


The Heiress (The Worst Witch)

by AriadneJennyHale



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 48,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26634763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriadneJennyHale/pseuds/AriadneJennyHale
Summary: Madame Augustine Allard is dead. The Allard family, one of the oldest, wealthiest and most important witching dynasties in France, is in chaos when their matriarch dies without an obvious heiress to her title and fortune. The Grand Wizard must locate a non-magical child, as only she can break the deadlock. But what has this got to do with Hecate Hardbroom? And how can it help her come to terms with the past?
Comments: 52
Kudos: 57





	1. The Heiress

Being summoned to Ada’s office at such an hour gave Hecate cause for alarm. She had finished her rounds of the dormitories and had completed the marking of the first years’ essays and had just begun to magically unpin her tightly scraped back dark hair when her mirror began to chime, and the kind bespectacled face of the headmistress appeared.  
“Hecate, I’m sorry for the lateness of the hour, but I have need of you in my office. Please come at once”.  
“Of course, Headmistress”.  
At once she sent the pins flying back into her hair catching the loose strands back in position and in an instant, her tall, slim black-clad figure materialised in Ada’s office in a cloud of black mist. She was immediately unnerved by the odd look on Ada’s face who gestured for her deputy to turn around. She turned to see The Great Wizard himself in his royal blue robes and hat seated in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. The silver trim on his cloak dazzling in the firelight.  
“Well met, Your Greatness”, she said as she placed her fingers to her forehead and curtseyed gracefully. What in Merlin’s name did he want?

“Miss Hardbroom, would you take the seat opposite?”  
She looked at him a little unsure, but she did as he asked, sitting down bolt upright and placing her hands neatly in her lap.  
“Miss Hardbroom” he said again. This time Hecate noticed a reticence in his voice as he seemed to be struggling for a way to begin. “I’m here on a matter which does not concern the school”.  
Hecate raised her eyebrows, now intrigued and a little disconcerted. “Yes, as I said, it’s nothing to do with the Academy, however, I thought you may wish Miss Cackle to stay during what I have to say. It is a delicate matter and I know Ada is not just your employer but also your friend”.

It had been rather a long day and Hecate wasn’t sure she could stand the suspense. A delicate matter? What, in Merlin’s name could this pompous fool have to discuss with her that did not concern the school? 

“Of course, I wish Miss Cackle to stay”. Ada immediately came to sit by Hecate’s side. “Please go on, Your Greatness, what do you wish to speak to me about?”

“Firstly, my apologies, Miss Hardbroom. This matter really concerns your brother, Hugo and if anyone knew where he was, I can assure you I would not have bothered you with this. I should also say that I am really here on behalf of my French counterpart, the Grand Mage. I offered to save him the long journey and….well, I’ve known you a long time”, he added awkwardly, shifting a little in his seat. "It concerns Augustine Allard, I’m sorry to say she died last week. Apparently, she passed peacefully in her sleep at her home in the Loire Valley”. At the name “Allard” Hecate’s body stiffened, she’d not heard the name in so long, but she remained silent. “As you may know, Augustine was Head Witch of her family”, Hecate nodded. “Well, as you are also aware…” the man now looked extremely uncomfortable and began tracing the embroidered silver thread of his robes with his finger, “Augustine had no surviving direct descendants in the female line, that is to say….no witches”.  
“Yes, I am aware” came the emotionless reply.  
The Great Wizard began to feel the heat from the fire as tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. The woman was not making this easy.  
“Right, well The Grand Mage was presented with an interesting dilemma of Code regarding the rightful heiress to the title of Head Witch, the Allard Book of Shadows and various magical objects, the family fortune, Chateau Allard and the vast lands owned by the Allards in the Loire Region. As you may be aware, when a witch matriarch dies without a female blood relation, the magic council must establish the rightful heiress. Usually, the wife of the closest wizard relation will inherit, provided she is not the matriarch of her own family and is not due to inherit the title”. For the first time, Ada spoke, “Didn’t she leave a will?”  
“No. She did not. It seems Augustine did not get on well with any of her nephews or their wives. If she had left a will, it may have sorted out the issue of the fortune, but even then, the heiress of her title and book of shadows would still have to be determined by the magical court in France”. 

Hecate listened respectfully, even with some interest, but she could not begin to see what any of this had to do with her.  
“Getting to the point,” continued the wizard.  
“I wish you would” Hecate said only in her head.  
“The Allard situation is extremely unusual. You see, in their case, the female bloodline has not died out because…….Well because…”  
Hecate’s huge dark eyes began to shine in the firelight, “Because Augustine Allard had a granddaughter”, Hecate completed.   
“Yes, thank you Miss Hardbroom. The French Magic Council did not believe there was a precedent for a situation where a ….pardon me, non-witch, was the only female left in the line, and, as you can imagine, there were plenty of very keen potential beneficiaries among the wives of the Allard wizards. It seems that Jacqueline, the wife of Augustine’s nephew Guion, has the most legitimate claim. But due diligence must be practised and, given that the Allards are one of the oldest and most powerful witching families in France, the Council was obligated to look into it in the finest detail and it seems that there is a precedent. 

A case of a similar nature occurred in England in 1645 and concerned the Miller Witches. The matriarch and her daughter were hanged together after being caught by the Witch-Finder General, but there was a granddaughter. A non-magical granddaughter. It was decided at the time that the girl was the legitimate heiress to the grimoire. Now, historians studying the case on behalf of the French Council are all of the opinion that in all likelihood the girl was, in fact, a witch but denied it to save her life. But conjecture has no place in this matter, at least not for now. The simple fact is that there is a precedent. Therefore, the Code dictates that Augustine's granddaughter must be found.

Hecate remained silent and frozen in her upright seated pose, her hands had not strayed from their clasped position in her lap and her eyes remained fixed on the Great Wizard. Her thoughts, however, were everywhere. Hecate Hardbroom was most rigorous in her adherence to The Code but even she had to admit she had never heard anything so ridiculous.  
“So, you are saying, Your Greatness, that the same Code that insists an infant born without magic must be cast away, alone, into the non-magical world, also insists that the same non-magical child can inherit a grimoire and by default the title Head Witch of her family?” 

“No, Miss Hardbroom. Clearly the girl cannot inherit as it would amount to the same as destroying the grimoire and ending the nobility of the Allards. However, there is a process to be gone through. Jacqueline and Guion Allard can and will challenge the girl’s right to inherit at the Magical Court of France on the basis that the child is not a witch. They will bring expert witnesses such as the historians I’ve mentioned whose theories will strengthen their case. There is absolutely no doubt The Allards will win, but first, it must be established that the girl is truly a non-witch”.

Hecate looked aghast, “Oh surely not. We’ve been through this more than once”.  
“I know this must be difficult and I can assure you I have explained the situation to the Grand Mage who is sympathetic. The problem is that, ten years ago, under pressure from both Augustine Allard and your father, Lord Hardbroom, The Magic Council did not formally record your niece’s non-magical status as neither family wanted it to become common knowledge. So, we must locate her, and she must present herself to the Conseil Magique where she will be tested for traces of magic and then…”  
“And then?”  
“Her memory of all of this will be erased and she will return to her world. Once again, I am sorry to rake this up for you”.  
Hecate watched the orange flames dance in the fireplace. A decade had passed since she had fought and lost for her niece, Aurora Allard and it had almost defeated her completely. Although it was still painful, she had come to terms with it and nothing good could come from arguing, she knew she would not win. She steadied herself. 

“How can I be of service in this matter?”  
The old man looked relieved. “Do you have anything that belonged to Aurora?”  
Hecate understood that he was planning to use an object for a locator spell. Her own parents had placed enchantments on the only thing she had of Aurora’s so that she could not use it to find the child, but the Great Wizard had ways of lifting those”.  
“Yes, Your Greatness.”  
“I should be most grateful if you would give it to me, Miss Hardbroom”

……………………..

Hecate transferred herself to her suite where she sat in front of her dressing table. In a daze, she opened the top draw and took out a wooden box. She waved her hand over the lock until it clicked, and the lid slowly opened to reveal an ornate silver rattle. All the emotion she had held in during the meeting with the Grand Wizard, all the emotion she had suppressed for last decade was welling up in her about to surface. Knowing she had only a moment before she would be unable to speak, she looked up into the dressing table mirror and managed the words “Pippa Pentangle”, before breaking down. Pippa’s bright, smiling face materialised in the glass but her expression turned to one of shock on seeing Hecate sobbing uncontrollably with the silver rattle in her hand.


	2. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own The Worst Witch :)
> 
> Now we've gone back in time for a bit of Miss Hardbroom's backstory xx

It was the society wedding of the year, if not, the decade. Both the bride and the groom were first in line to become the next Head Witch and Head Wizard of their respective families. Rarely did two such great families come together like this. In the fullness of time this couple would be among the wealthiest and most powerful in the witching world. Everyone who was anyone was gathered in the late afternoon sunshine in the gardens of Hardbroom Hall to watch the young couple marry.

The guests rose when the orchestra began. A traditional witch wedding march had been chosen which had a slightly haunting ethereal quality. Audible gasps echoed through row after row of guests as the waif-like bride glided serenely down the aisle. She wore an empire line gown of ivory silk and antique lace with pearls, and her auburn hair was caught up with little sliver leaves with pearls and turquoise stones. Not for the first time Pippa thought the woman was more faerie than witch.

Pippa Pentangle, herself was a twenty-one-year-old pretty blonde witch who, today, was utterly resplendent in a summer dress of pink silk and organza with a waterfall front. She wore a hat which was wrapped in the same pink organza that fell a little lower than the brim giving her eyes a little shade from the unrelenting August sun. The pink witch watched the bride who was flanked on both sides by her parents. Her father, a small unassuming looking man on her left, and to her right, her mother, Augustine Allard a beautiful woman in turquoise silk, the top of her dress encrusted with moonstones, turquoise and opals. Her reputation proceeded her making it difficult to see her without prejudgement, however, the woman looked confident and tough.

From her place a few rows back, Pippa could see the back of her friend. Pippa wouldn't have believed it possible if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but Hecate had lost weight. Pippa had known her all her life and Hecate barely ate but somehow, in the months since she'd last seen her, she'd lost a stone at least. She was wearing a gown of emerald green silk that had obviously been her mother's choice. As the bride arrived at the front Hecate turned her face to see her. Pippa could not see her friend's face underneath her green, wide- brimmed hat, but she knew that even now, with her heart breaking, she wasn't crying. She stood tall and held her head as high as ever. She was the daughter of Lord and Lady Hardbroom after all. Hardbrooms don't show emotion in public, or in private. Hecate Hardbroom knew how to behave, but today, it must have taken all the strength she had.

At the front, standing on the stage was Hugo Hardbroom, tall, handsome, good for nothing and lazy. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth as heir to the Hardbroom fortune, he'd never had to work for anything. Everything just came his way. If he wanted it, his parents made sure he got it. Whatever it was… whoever it was. As he took the pale hand of the woman standing next to him, he said, "I promise to love you forever, your magic and mine will dwell together for eternity, in this life and the next."

Pippa give an unladylike snort despite herself. Who wrote that for him? she thought to herself. This womaniser who has never given a thought to anyone but himself wouldn't be faithful to her. Despite Pippa's feelings towards the bride, she was sorry for her. She barely knew Hugo, whereas Pippa had known him most of her life.

She considered Audrey Allard. Pippa did not like her. In many ways the couple were well suited as she had also grown up with everything in a silver cauldron, and the woman felt she was entitled to do whatever she wanted. She'd not done anything to Pippa personally, well not that Audrey was aware of, but she'd hurt her friend. No, Hecate was more than that to Pippa. She'd learned the hard way not to push her feelings away. Pippa noticed Hecate's mother whisper something in her ear and even from the distance Pippa sensed rather than saw Hecate's body bristle.

….

Ada cackle was seated on the opposite side of the aisle from the Hardbrooms and Pippa. She loved weddings and she'd looked forward to catching up with Hecate and congratulating her on her graduation. She had been so proud of her former student when she'd read about her achievements in the Witching Times. She'd looked happy last time she'd seen her. University life seemed to suit her. From her vantage point, she couldn't see the girl because Hector Hardbroom was so tall, that standing at the end of the front row he blocked out all the members of his family from Ada's vision. The wedding march began, and Ada rose to her feet with the rest of the guests. She looked up along the isle but there were far too many pointy hats for her to see the bride entering, but she heard the gasps from those who could see her. Just as the bride was level with her, Ada was distracted from the proceedings because Lord Hardbroom moved just enough for Ada to see Hecate dressed in her green gown. She was shocked to see how thin the girl had become. She couldn't believe it was possible for Hecate to lose any more weight, she had always been so thin. As the bride passed her, Hecate turned her head to follow Audrey's progress and in so doing, Ada was able to see her former pupil properly and her eyes grew wide. The girl looked gaunt and ill. Her face, always pale, was now grey and there were dark circles under her emotionless eyes. Something was very wrong with her favourite girl.

…..

Hecate was seated between her father, Hector, a tall thin wizard in green robes and her mother, Regina, stunning in a gown of deep crimson symbolising the family of her birth. Hecate had not flinched when her mother had presented her with the gaudy green dress she was to wear. "Green. The Hardbroom family colour", her mother had announced. It does not suit your complexion, but it is proper you wear it today and it will do you good to remember who you are and how you ought to behave". When she emerged from her room wearing the gown, her mother had further criticised the way the style exposed her bony shoulders and how the delicate silk did not disguise her protruding ribs. Hecate, with her tired red eyes set in dark circles and her sallow completion against the green dress was aware she was not only wearing Hardbroom green, she also resembled the frog on the Hardbroom family crest, and she couldn't have cared less.

Hecate had been numbly getting through the day in the knowledge it would soon be over, but tears had begun to prick in her eyes when the bride had walked past her. Audrey was more beautiful today than even Hecate could have imagined, but she blinked the tears away and instantly regained composure. She was expressionless while Hugo pledged his vow. Her mother, with her cold black eyes and a crimson smile fixed on her son and his bride, leant just a little towards Hecate and whispered, without moving her lips, "This is your brother's day. This is our day. If you cannot smile, at least have the grace to angle the brim of your hat over your miserable face".


	3. A job offer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own The Worst Witch :)

Hecate was now seated at a long table that was slightly raised above all the other smaller tables. She was once again seated in between her parents. Most of the formalities were over and the dinner plates had been vanished, but Hecate had barely touched her food. After an excruciating, immature, misogynistic speech by Hugo's low-life best wizard had ended with rapturous applause and delight from the guests, the band started up and the witches and wizards were invited to dance. As Hecate was watching Audrey and Hugo, her mother was rambling in her ear about the Allard relations. Apparently, not everyone was thrilled that Audrey was married. "That's Jacqueline, she married Guion Allard last year", Regina said as she eyed the woman in designer couture. "She doesn't look very happy, and nor should she. She'd be next in line if Audrey has no daughters". On and on her mother had whittered while Hecate was only vaguely aware of the elegant tanned woman with bouffant blonde hair that her mother found so fascinating. Hecate's eyes moved away from the happy newlyweds, around the marquis, and came to rest on an old wizard who was sitting alone at one of the tables. Although he seemed to be enjoying watching the couples dance, he cut a lonely figure sitting there.

Hecate's mind wandered. In her daydream she was sitting alone in her new classroom on the first morning at her French university partner school. As was usual for Hecate she found she was the first one there, even before the teacher. She took a seat at one of the empty tables and waited. When the other students began to saunter in, she cast them glances under her long eyelashes hoping they would sit with her, but they were chatting amongst themselves as they passed her as though she were invisible. She'd forgotten how difficult she found it to fit in without Pippa at her side. She felt as though she were a pre-teen at Cackle's again.

A rather small, balding man appeared at the front of the class using a transference spell and eyed the students with his twinkly blue eyes. "Is this everyone?" He asked. When no one answered he said with a smile, "I am Professeur Maximilian Thibault, I will be your teacher for Development of Magical Ability in Young Children. And now I will find out who you are". He picked up a register, "Audrey Allard?", he called, and when no reply came, he looked around and said, "Non?" and chuckled, "not a good start", and began calling out names of the other witches and wizards. Some had English sounding names and replied either "yes master" or "Well met, Sir" the traditional greetings wizards and witches use in Britain. Other names were French, and their owners responded in their traditional French greetings. "Hecate Hardbroom", he called out emphasising the 'h' sounds as they were unnatural to him. Elegantly, Hecate raised her hand to her forehead, "Well met, Professeur Thibault". The professor smiled at her and completed the register after which he began to talk a little about his experience in the field of Development of Magical Ability and began the class. After twenty minutes had passed, the door burst open and a girl with flowing auburn hair slid into the classroom. "Professeur, je suis désolée de ces quelques minutes de retard".

"Mademoiselle Audrey Allard?" enquired the teacher. The girl nodded, "Tres bien! Veuillez vous asseoir?" Hecate mentally tutted at the girl being twenty minutes late to class but as Audrey pulled back her splendid hair as she glanced around the room for an empty seat, Hecate looked wide eyed at her. The girl was so beautiful, and she was smiling at Hecate who found herself smiling back as the girl sat down next to her.

She was brought back to reality by her former head mistress. "Hecate dear? Are you alright?"

Her hand immediately flew to her forehead and she rose to stand, "Well met, Miss Cackle".

"Oh Hecate, didn't I tell you last time? You're not at school anymore! You must call me Ada," she insisted as she touched her own forehead with the back of her hand and sat down next to the green clad young woman in the seat recently vacated by Regina Hardbroom.

"Yes, Miss…. Erm Ada".

Ada chuckled.

"Congratulations my dear".

"Thank you Mmm… Ada…... What for?"

"For graduating of course! I expected no less of you, Hecate".

"Oh. Thank you" she replied with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Only one week earlier she'd received her degree with the highest honours and commendations from her tutors, but it had not made her happy. She had only worked so hard to distract herself from thinking about the wedding.

"So, what next for you?"

Truthfully, Hecate did not know. Earlier that morning her mother had reminded her of her "obligations" to marry an eldest son of a good family. "Just as I did" she had spat, "and just as Audrey will do today because she is a sensible girl. There will be plenty of potential suiters coming this afternoon. Shame you look worse than I'd hoped".

Hecate finally answered, "I haven't decided yet Miss….sorry, Ada. I'm not sure".

Just then her elegant crimson-clad mother appeared in front of her with Hugo's smug Best Wizard in tow. "You remember my daughter Hecate", she said breezily.

"Dear Hecate, how lovely to see you again". Artimis Redcharm turned to look at the young witch, undressing her with his eyes in exactly the same way he'd been looking at her mother just a moment earlier. "May I have this dance?"

After an awkward moment of hesitation her mother's sharp voice broke the silence, "Hecate, she commanded with her big dark eyes icily burning into her daughter's, "Of course you will dance".

Ada had watched the exchange and as Hecate slowly and dutifully rose from her chair, Ada could really see what a mess she was. She was skeletal. The overwhelming need to care for Hecate enveloped her. A feeling she's had so many times before while she had been a pupil under her care. She gently grasped her thin fragile arm. "Come to Cackle's for the start of the new term next week".

Hecate looked quizzically at Ada.

"See how teaching suits you. Consider it Hecate, please".


	4. Camelot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own The Worst Witch :)  
> I hope you are enjoying my story xx

Only a week after the wedding August had turned to September. As Hecate flew to Cackle's Academy, the fresh September breeze whipped her face and blew back her cloak, the old feeling of relief at leaving her parents' home at the end of summer came back. During the long flight from Hardbroom Hall she'd felt her mental strength returning just a bit. Since graduating she'd had far too much time to think. After summer last year, she had thrown herself into her final year studies at university. She'd had only one real friend, Pippa, but she had pushed the sweet blonde girl away. Pippa had opened her eyes to what student life could offer, dancing, partying, drinking dubious potions but all those things were too much effort for her after what happened with Audrey. She attended classes during the day and spent most of the evenings in the library, staying there late into the night. She rarely ate at mealtimes, instead, just grabbing a baguette and tearing bits off to eat during the day whenever she felt a bit dizzy. She would wash the bread down with strong black coffee. After her final exams had finished, she had lacked distraction from the wedding, and worse, she'd been forced to go back to her parents' home and suffer endless wedding talk. She was so grateful to Miss Cackle for giving her somewhere else to stay and something to focus her mind.

As the familiar castle with its turrets came into view, her heart swelled and for just a moment, even she, Hecate Hardbroom was overcome with emotion. Cackle's was where she'd always felt secure. The world was so unpredictable, magic was unpredictable but, in the academy, it was taught in a controlled environment. Everything was controlled. Each child knew what was expected of her. Poor behaviour had consequences and achievements were rewarded. That suited her. She needed order because it helped her make sense of the world. Life outside the castle confused her. People confused her. They said things they did not mean and promised things they did not intend to do, and Hecate clung to certainty more than most people. As she turned and descended on her broom down past the stone turrets proudly displaying their flags with the school emblem, she felt like she was returning to Camelot.

After greeting her old teachers and spending a few moments catching up, Ada showed Hecate to her room. It was far larger and more comfortable than the rooms the girls slept. It had a large desk and a magic mirror. "Of course, you don't need to earn mirror credits now you are a teacher", Ada chuckled, "You can mirror whomever, whenever you like". Hecate looked at the oval glass on the wall and could not think of anyone that she would want to call". As if Ada could read her thoughts, she began explaining how Hecate's student placement would work. She would be observing teachers in all subjects and acting as an assistant and writing some lesson plans before eventually teaching classes of her own which would be observed by Ada herself. There would be some assignments and Hecate would have to attend college a few times per term for peer mentoring groups and some lectures. By the end of the school year, Hecate would be a fully qualified teacher.

Ada watched as her newest member of staff unfolded and hung her clothes in the wardrobe. Long skirts and blouses all in the dullest shades of grey. If Ada could describe the girl's wardrobe in one word, that word would be........ sensible. Her long jet black hair was taken back loosely in a neat boring plait down her back. While Ada wondered why a young woman of twenty-two would dress like her grandmother, Hecate carefully unpacked one blouse that was a very pale grey silk almost bordering on pink, it looked expensive. With its slight frill at the neck and the wrists it was…. pretty. Ada gave a smile at the thought that the girl must have been in an uncharacteristically frivolous mood when she'd bought it.

….........

When Ada left her to the rest of her unpacking, Hecate looked at the grey blouse that she'd laid carefully on the bed. She crossed the room to the mirror and held it up against her body, and as she did so, the light from the window caught it and the silk took on a slightly pink hue. She'd bought it more than a year ago. In another life.

"Oh Ettie, you must try it." The memory of that sweet voice with the French accent echoed through Hecate's mind before she could stop it.

"Have you seen the price of this?" Hecate whispered as she turned the label so that the auburn-haired girl could see.

"Ah, I know, but you never treat yourself, please Ettie, try it for me. It is grey after all". The girl's green eyes flashed excitedly. Hecate gave a brief look to the smart middle-aged shop assistant who was eyeing the young women suspiciously. This was exactly the kind of shop that made her feel uncomfortable, and exactly the kind of shop Pippa would have dragged her into. Pippa would have loved it here, she thought. Shopping on the Champs-Élysées. So Pippa!

Hecate gave an exasperated sigh, "Ok. But only to stop you talking!"

Audrey clapped her hands in delight. It was odd how much she reminded Hecate of her blonde friend.

"Excuse me, Madame", Audrey addressed the assistant, "my friend would like to try this". The older woman looked Hecate up and down taking in her shapeless dull grey crocheted top and faded jeans.

"Ze changing room is zis way", she said without any eye contact and Hecate and Audrey followed her. The older woman impatiently pulled a heavy pale blue satin curtain aside. "In 'ere" she said to the tall dark-haired girl.

Hecate walked into a sumptuous marquis style changing room with a plush lilac stool and two ornate oval mirrors opposite each other. She put on the blouse and had to admit it fitted well. It was long enough in the body which was where clothes tended to be too short. She spent a few moments carefully fastening the tiny pearl buttons down the front, enjoying the feeling of the fine silk against her skin. When it came to the line of little pearl buttons at each wrist, she lost patience and since she was obscured from view, she used magic to fasten them. She looked up and was for just a moment taken aback by her own reflection in the long oval mirror. It was so flattering on her. The silk was gathered just a little at the shoulders giving them a little height, the sleeves were wide until just below the elbows where the little buttons were fastened. " 'ow are you doing in zere, Ettie"

"I'm ready" she answered shyly. She was just about to walk out of the changing room when Audrey pulled the curtain back and gasped.

Hecate, suddenly unsure, said hurriedly, "It's not really me, I'll take it off now".

"Ettie, you must know you are beautiful".

"I....." Hecate started as her eyes briefly caught the second mirror opposite. "No one has ever called me that before".

"Audrey slowly walked over to her and came to stand just millimetres from Hecate and as she did so, Audrey moved her hand up to just above Hecate's head. Over Audrey's shoulder the mirror behind her reflected the one on the opposite side behind Hecate so that she could see both the front and the back of herself. She saw her neat plait undo itself under Audrey's spell until her black wavy hair hung loose down her back. Then Audrey, began moving her fingers intricately through the air and stands of raven hair began twisting themselves up into a complicated and yet seemingly effortless style of loops and swirls until all the hair was taken up revealing Hecate's long neck. Finally the auburn haired girl conjured tiny pink flower buds that, once in position, blossomed to reveal their tiny petals which contrasted beautifully with Hecate's dark hair. She was standing so close Hecate could barely remember how to breath. "Nobody has ever told you zat you are beautiful? I cannot believe it". Audrey kissed her gently on the lips. When Hecate didn't flinch, she kissed her again and again.

"What is 'appening in zere?" The curtain was pulled back and the horror-struck shop assistant seemed unable to speak.

"My friend will take ze blouse, s'il vous plaît, Madame". Audrey began to giggle uncontrollably until even Hecate giggled and both girls collapsed on the floor laughing.

She shook the memory away and decided she was not going to torture herself any longer. She sent the blouse zooming across the room and the garment hung itself neatly in the wardrobe before the door slammed closed.

.......….

There is a strange timelessness about a school. It is like a river. An ever-rolling stream of timid first years arrive, they move through the school, they are churned out aged sixteen with their Witches' Junior Certificates and are replaced by another cohort of shy little girls. Time in a school moves with the sounding of a bell. The morning bell that tells everyone when it is time to wake up, the bell that says go to class, the bell that says class dismissed, the lunch bell, the dinner bell, the night-time bell and it all begins again day after day. The artwork in the school's corridors mirror the seasons outside. The walls are filled with orange poster paint and black steaming cauldrons, soon to be replaced with the icicles and twinkling winter trees of Yuletide, which in turn give way to spring-time pastel shades and the summer solstice. Autumn term, Winter, Spring after Autumn, Winter, Spring, never ceasing and never really changing. Caught in this relentless rolling current, time seems to pass unnoticed. Miss Hardbroom, dressed top to toe in black, stared out of the window from her chair in the deputy headmistress's office, she recognised some of the mothers bringing their pale, anxious looking daughters to their entrance examination. And they weren't the first. She'd been teaching the daughters of her former pupils for a couple of years now. She sighed as she thought, "How can twenty years have passed so quickly?"


	5. The Craft is in Decline

Ada was standing in the quadrangle greeting the early arrivals for the assessment day. She felt the familiar buzz of excitement she always felt when she met the perspective first years and their parents, however, this year there was something dulling the usual thrill. A memory from ten years earlier came back to her.

She was sitting at her desk and watching the twisting chandelier pendulum of her antique anniversary clock spin around and around when, at the precise moment the minute hand joined the hour hand at twelve midday, a loud confident knock on Ada's office door awoke her from her thoughts. The door opened and a tall figure in a tight-fitting black skirt and blouse with a thick belt around her tiny waist and a timepiece hanging from her neck, walked elegantly and confidently through the door. Her jet-black hair was scraped back into a traditional perfect bun on the top of her head which showed off her lovely features. Black eyeliner along her top lashes accentuated beautiful dark brown eyes that looked as though they had been painted in oils. Despite the woman appearing at the door at exactly the arranged time, Ada was momentarily unsure who she was. As her hand came to her forehead for the greeting, Ada noticed her previously bitten unpolished nails were now long and painted black. "Well met, Headmistress".

Hecate was truly stunning although, knowing her as she did, stunning was unlikely to have been the desired effect.

"I would like to put myself forward for the position of Deputy Headmistress".

Ada had given much thought to how this conversation would go but it was certainly taking a direction she had not imagined.

"Well met, Hecate. It's wonderful to have you back, please sit down. Deputy Headmistress? Surely you'd want to ease back in slowly after your time away?"

Hecate turned an emotionless face to Ada. "Why?" she asked simply.

"Well, surely you…..after everything that's happened"

"After everything that's happened I shall be glad to give all of myself to the service of the school".

"But Hecate, the loss of Aurora…."

"I have no children", she interrupted flatly, "Nor have I ever had a child and I do not see myself acquiring one in the future. It is quite proper for a witch with no daughters of her own to devote herself to the progression and continuation of magical knowledge and teach the next generation of witches".

Ada recognised the final statement as a quote from the Witches' Code and slowly began to understand this odd exchange, the traditional clothes and hairstyle and the wish to conform. Hecate was clinging to the Code despite how it had bruised her, with a grip that those who are abused cling to their abusers. It was the only thing anchoring her to her present reality and giving her reassurance of what her life will be. Without it, Ada thought, perhaps Hecate felt she would float away.

Ada considered the young determined woman in front of her. She had qualified as a teacher only three years before and had spent the last twelve months away from school. However, teaching, like most things, came easily to her. Strict but fair, the girls respected her and the passion she had for knowledge and learning and for passing that knowledge along was second to none. Although she did wonder what the girls would make of this new version of their potions mistress. No other teacher had put themselves forward for the job, so Ada had penned an advertisement for the role to be sent to the Witching Times in the next post. However, Hecate, with her clear thinking, decisiveness and desire for order made her an excellent candidate for deputy and, in truth, Ada couldn't think of anyone with whom she could form a more formidable team. There would be a few raised eyebrows at the Magic Council, given her young age and limited teaching experience, but Ada was sure she could justify Hecate's appointment and assuage any doubt on the part of the Great Wizard. It was settled. Miss Hardbroom was to be Deputy Headmistress of Cackle's Academy.

...................

The appearance of the tall witch in her black cloak and pointiest hat next to the shorter woman in the quadrangle brought Ada back to the present moment.

"The new term starts in six weeks and these are our potential first formers?" The deputy hissed, clearly unimpressed. "The Craft is in decline".

"Watch out, incoming!" Shouted Esmerelda Hallow just as she was introducing her younger sister, Ethel, to the teachers. Ada, Hecate and Miss Bat watched in horror as two perspective first years nose-dived on an out of control broomstick and crashed into the pond. "What did I just say, Ada?" and with that the tall black-clad witch vanished in order to deal with the silly girls who were about to waste her time taking part in the assessment day. The two girls, one, a short, chubby, bespectacled girl with curly hair, and the other, a taller, pale and very thin girl with her brown hair in two plaits were flailing their arms around when the witch loomed over them looking utterly terrifying. "I am Miss Hardbroom, Deputy Headmistress. And who are you?"

….

The Great Hall was filled with around 30 ancient-looking wooden exam desks set out in perfect rows and equally positioned around three feet apart from one another. At almost every desk sat an eleven-year old girl who looked like she was about to vomit. The hall was in absolute silence when Ada materialised with the final two girls who had become separated from the rest, incidentally, these were the same girls from the pond debacle earlier.

"Finally," echoed a sharp voice from the front of the hall where the severe looking witch dressed in black shot the girls a withering glance from her place at a large wooden desk, a pile of exam papers on one side of her and an enormous hourglass filled with purple sand on the other. The two girls, Maud Spellbody, with the glasses and curly hair, and Mildred Hubble, the other, taller girl with the two plaits, were instructed to sit at two old rickety desks at opposite sides of the hall. They shot worried looks at each other as the papers flew from the pile on the witch's table and landed face down in the middle of each girl's desk. The hourglass on the table turned itself upside down as soon as Miss Hardbroom commanded, "You may begin".

While the girls were either confidently writing or looking nervously at their neighbours, Ada saw Hecate's eyes wander over them and come to rest on an empty desk that had been set for one young witch who had not attended and whose parents had not bothered to let them know. There was a sad look in Hecate's eyes that Ada had not seen there for many years and her heart broke for the younger witch. Ada quickly vanished the empty desk and chair and Hecate seemed to wake from her trance. Ada needed to talk to her about this year's new intake, but it was a delicate matter and with the two girls going missing and her twin sister, Agatha who was always trouble, turning up unannounced, there hadn't been time.

"Take charge, Hecate. I need to talk to my sister".

…....

It had been a very long day and both witches were relieved to be sipping tea in the comfortable armchairs in the headmistress's office. 

"Was it too harsh to strip her of her magic?"

"Your sister has always been dangerous, today she tried to take over the school and she turned you into a snail!"

"But she's still my sister, I wish there had been another way".

There was a long pause while the two witches thought over the day's events. One of the perspective first years, one Mildred Hubble had saved the school from Agatha Cackle's take over bid and poured the evil witch's own obedience potion over her and commanded that she reverse the snail transformation spell and turn Ada back into human form.

Ada finished her tea and placed her cup down on the table. There was still the matter she needed to talk to her deputy about and she couldn't put it off any longer. 

"Hecate, I've been meaning to talk to you all day".

With a wary look on her face, Hecate looked up from her tea. "Now, it's about next year's tutor groups, I thought you could swap with….."

"Surely, I shall take the first years. My previous group have left after five years under my tutelage, so as the school's tradition dictates, I will now take on this new group and they will progress through the school with me as their mentor".

"Yes, of course that would be the usual protocol, but even Cackle's traditions can be overlooked if there is a good enough reason. If you wanted to swap with, say, Miss Bat and take the second years, it would be fine with me".

Hecate had never eluded to what happened ten years ago, and Ada had never brought it up either. It was true she had found today difficult. Meeting this year's first formers was always going to be hard, but it had not occurred to her that her headmistress and friend thought she could not carry out her duties.

When Hecate spoke, her voice was weak, "Thank you for your concern headmistress, but I am a professional, am I not?"

"Of course you are…. But"

The strength in Hecate's voice returned, "Then I do not need centuries old traditions bent to suit my personal circumstances in case I get upset", she spat the last word as though it were distasteful.

"Even with a girl from a non-magical background?"

"I will admit I wasn't prepared for Mildred Hubble crash landing into the school pond, sabotaging Ethels Hallow's potion and generally disrupting our peace. I will say again that I think you are making a mistake with her. I know you feel you owe the girl for saving the school today, but the fact remains that she did not pass the entrance exam. It is for that reason alone she does not belong here".

"I understand, it must seem so unfair, it is unfair".

"Headmistress", she turned her cold dark stare to Ada, "I do not waste my time whining about what is and what isn't fair. I am a witch and I make the best of what life gives me. I will hear nothing more about changing the tutor groups or changing anything else for that matter. I am fine. She disappeared in a cloud of black mist. Ada sat alone in her office with Hecate's "I am fine" echoing around the room and not sounding any more convincing.

"Oh dear", she breathed.


	6. Mildred

In her attic room in one of the castle's many turrets, Mildred got into bed after a long day. Undoing her plaits as she tried to get comfortable on the thin mattress, she thought about the day's potions class fiasco. It wasn't fair. Miss Hardbroom was a bitch of the first order. Mildred was the only girl in the class who came from a non-witching background. Six months ago, she hadn't known that witches were real, or that there were broomsticks that flew or magical schools. All the other girls had been brought up in witching families. Even before the first potions lesson, they could all name and recognise the base herbs and most of them had brewed a couple of potions at home with their mothers or grandmothers. Mildred had only found out magical potions were an actual thing during her assessment day when she had successfully managed to brew a levitation potion on her first attempt. But she never got any credit.

The memory of how Ethel and her friends had howled with laughter after what HB had said earlier made her hands shake with anger.

"I have been teaching witches for twenty years and you are a disgrace…. You are the worst witch", the miserable cow had hissed at her. How was she supposed to know that adding pond weed to a colour changing potion would cause an explosion? She was becoming more and more unhappy. If it hadn't been for Maud and Enid, she would have left Cackle's long before now. She didn't feel that she was good at anything anymore. She looked over at her desk where a drawing of a bat lay unfinished and she remembered how her teachers in her non-magical school had always praised her artwork and always displayed her paintings and drawings on her classroom walls. She remembered how she used to look at them during difficult maths lessons because they helped her to remember what she was good it. But no one cared about her artwork here. No one had any faith in her and now she was loosing faith in herself.

The memory of last term's spelling bee surfaced again. "Ethel, you must take the lead in every round. Mildred, you must do absolutely nothing", HB had said, "This is what happens when you let a girl from a non-magical background represent the school". But Miss Pentangle, the headmistress of the competing school, had seen how Mildred was treated and had offered her a place at her school. She had insisted that Mildred take the lead in the final round and Mildred had surprised everyone, not least herself, by performing a perfectly controlled weather spell. She smiled at the memory. Why on Earth had she not taken Miss Pentangle's offer of a scholarship? The answer was her friends, Maud and Enid. For two hours, her mind went around in circles but eventually she decided that she'd had enough of being made to feel like the worst witch and decided she would speak to Miss Cackle and ask if a transfer to Pentangle's was still possible.

…...

Hecate was sitting at the desk in her office. The day had been a long one. The first years were particularly troublesome, and Mildred Hubble had caused another explosion in the potions laboratory. The girl was beyond teaching and today, after two terms of the stupid girl, she had lost her patience with her altogether.

"I've taught witches in this academy for twenty years and never have I seen a girl so incompetent, so utterly foolish, you are a disgrace to the name witch. Mildred, you are without doubt the worst witch I have ever taught".

Hecate closed an exercise book and sent it flying to the top of the done pile with a point of her index finger. Just one more first year essay on the advantages and disadvantages of bindweed in invisibility positions and she would have finished for the day. With the obvious exception of Ethel Hallow's essay, which was outstanding, the others had ranged in quality from the barely adequate to the abominable and it was unlikely this last offering would bring up the class average.

"Mildred Hubble" Hecate whispered to herself, "what have you got for me?" and she began to read what could only be very loosely described as an essay. It wasn't just the content that was poor, it lacked almost every component an essay ought to have. There were barely any paragraphs and arguments were rambling and disorganised. The only well-formed sentences were the ones Hecate could hear herself saying in class when presumably Mildred had written them down verbatim, not really knowing whether these were arguments for or against bindweed. Surprisingly, there was a reasonable conclusion, but how this had been formed from the mess above it was impossible to say, though it was rather close in wording to Maud Spellbody's work. Overall, it read less like an essay, and more like... words on a page. It was as if nobody had shown her how to create a plan or arrange her thoughts. In short, Mildred was no poster girl for whichever non-magical primary school had sent her out into the world. Not for the first time, Hecate wondered what non-magical schools were like and how another young girl might be fairing.

At first, she had felt Mildred's non-magical background was no excuse. She was not the only child to come from that world, though it was rare they came to Cackle's because it was a selective school and rarely did they perform well enough in the entrance exam, but other schools, like Moonridge and Pentangle's usually had at least one child per year group with no craft in their family and they didn't routinely annihilate whatever they touched. But Mildred was a different case. The Magic Council had ways of reaching out to concerned parents of babies who seemed to do things they couldn't explain. They were offered advice and were encouraged to send their children to magical play schools. However, Mildred had gone undetected. No one, including herself had realised she was a witch until the morning of her entrance exam. She knew she had been hard on the girl earlier and the memory of Ethel Hallow and her friends laughing at Mildred pricked at her conscience. She'd been hard on her every day since the start of the year and she knew why. She wasn't angry at Mildred for the mistakes she made, rather she was angry at her because she had magic in the first place. Ada had been right when she had questioned the wisdom of Hecate being this year group's form mistress, particularly with Mildred being among them. As she finished correcting and grading her work, giving her the constructive criticism which she had hitherto failed to give the girl, she knew it wasn't just Mildred who must do better.

Hecate placed two fingers under her eyes. She was very tired as she began to take down her severely scraped back hair when the mirror chimed, and Ada's face appeared.

"I'm sorry for lateness of the hour, Hecate, but I have need of you in the office. Please come at once".


	7. Dawn

At Pentangle's Academy, Pippa Pentangle couldn't sleep so she had decided to busy herself with paperwork. She had looked at the end of term reports for the third years with pride and written short encouraging comments at the bottom in the headmistress's notes section. It was now well past midnight and she thought she ought to go to bed. Just as she was about to get up, her mirror chimed, she sat herself back down in front of her desk and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the sobbing black-clad form of her oldest friend, her head laying on her dressing table clutching a silver rattle.

On seeing Hecate in such a state, Pippa ended the mirror call, transferred herself and appeared at Hecate's side. She knelt beside her and put an arm around the sobbing witch's shoulders. They stayed like that for a while and when it seemed as though Hecate's sobs were beginning to calm a little, Pippa spoke softly. "Can you tell me what's happened?"

In a choked little voice, Hecate recalled what the Great Wizard had said. Pippa was dumbstruck as she listened aghast to Hecate's account of the meeting.

"Are you sure you want to give this away?"

"Do you think I have a choice, Pippa? He asked out of politeness, but he'll take it anyway. The locator spell will have to be strong after so many years, so strong it will destroy it completely", Hecate said as she looked down at the precious toy.

"Pippa, I want to be there when His Greatness performs the spell and I want to be the one who tells her".

"Oh Hecate are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No", she replied honestly. "But I want to see her, I need to know if she's alright. I need to explain to her that I tried my best. Even though her memory will be erased before she leaves, I need to explain and I hope she will forgive me".

"If you really must do it then I'll support you."

The black clad witch wiped her face as she stood up, "His Greatness is waiting."

"I'm coming with you"

….......

Hecate and Pippa materialised in the potions laboratory where The Great Wizard and Ada were waiting. Ada had already set up a cauldron and laid out all the base herbs.

"Well met, your Greatness", said Pippa bobbing a curtsey. The old man nodded in response.

"Oh, well met Pippa", beamed Ada who was delighted to see that Hecate had reached out to her friend.

"I would like to stay", Hecate declared. "And I want to explain to Aurora what is happening"

Ada shot a horrified look at Pippa, but the blonde witch returned a look which said, "I've tried, she won't be out be put off".

The Great Wizard began to mix the potion. Even with a thousand emotions and memories racing around her head, Hecate noticed the imprecise manner with which the man weighed out the ingredients, not to mention he was preparing a standard strength potion which had absolutely no chance of working on a girl who had been lost for ten years.

When he seemed satisfied that the potion was almost finished, he looked at Hecate and said, "May I have the final ingredient?". Hecate held out the rattle for him.

With a short incantation the wizard gently dropped the rattle into the red potion which immediately gave a little fizz. He and the three witches watched as the rattle rose out of the cauldron and began to rotate slowly before coming to a complete stop for a moment and then dropped back into the cauldron with a plop.

A momentary awkward silence descended until Hecate, with all the patience she could muster suggested he may need to add five times the amount of dandelion petals because of the passage of so many years, and also suggested juniper berries because the target of the spell was human and not a lost sock. "Merlin help us!" she thought to herself,. She had taught twelve-year-old witches with a superior grasp of potion making than this imbecile of a wizard.

"Of course, Miss Hardbroom, Apologies, it has been a while" he said clearly mortified.

The wizard added the suggested ingredients and the liquid turned a bright orange. This time when the rattle rose from the cauldron it spun around faster and faster making a humming sound and as it rotated sparks flew from it until it began to resemble a Catherine wheel. After a few moments, pictures began to emerge in the wheel. At first a tiny baby appeared fast asleep in a cradle in a bedroom Hecate recognised at Hardbroom Hall where eleven years ago Aurora had been born. Already Hecate was feeling faint and as if Pippa sensed it, the blonde witch held her hand. The picture faded and another came into view, this time a toddler of about ten months old took four or five steps before falling on her bottom. A tall raven-haired woman came running into view, she bent to pick up the child and as she did, the loving, smiling face a of a young Hecate looked out of the wheel-like screen and stared into the present Hecate's own tearful eyes. Pippa's hand squeezed hers. "You don't have to watch this," but no reply came from the other witch. Moments in time flashed in the mirror, she saw a police station, a non-magical primary school behind green gates. A block of flats with a balcony where Aurora, now about six or seven, with her brown hair tied into two plaits was looking out and appeared to be drawing. She had a look of someone she knew, but who? Finally, the rattle began to slow as it gave its final picture. A building they all knew well- an imposing medieval castle of stone standing proud on a mountain, flags flying from each of its turrets, each one with a black cat sitting on a crescent moon, the word 'strive' emblazoned in gold beneath the emblem. The picture zoomed in as though it would crash into the stone, but it shot into the attic room of one of the highest turrets. There, in a metal framed bed, a girl slept buried underneath her covers with only her brown hair in messy half untied plaits visible. The hum died down as the rattle stopped spinning and vanished into a silvery mist.

No one spoke.

Until at last, the Great Wizard said, "Well. It seems you were right all along, Hecate"

"What does this mean?" Asked Ada.

"It means the Grand Mage will have the unenviable task of breaking the news to Jacqueline Allard that she has no claim to anything, and young Mildred Hubble will inherit the lot. Rather him than me", he gave a little chortle before rearranging his face to a more serious expression, "As for what you tell Mildred", he addressed Hecate, "You did say you wanted to be the one to explain. Is that still your wish?"

"Yes, Your Greatness."

"Good. I will only say that I shall try to delay the gossip mill at the council for as long as I can, but this is a huge story in France, and it won't be long before it makes the papers on this side of the channel. I suggest you have the conversation with her tomorrow, erm that is today", he corrected himself as he glanced towards the laboratory's huge arched windows. Hecate followed his gaze to where a purple dawn was breaking.


	8. Tea Leaves

There didn't seem any point in going to bed. Ada, Pippa and Hecate were all sitting in Ada's office. Pippa had made them all tea and had positioned her chair close to Hecate's.

"I've been horrid to her. Just yesterday I called her the worst witch I've ever taught".

Pippa winced a little a that but said flatly, "You can just tell her she isn't and that you didn't mean it"

"But I did mean it."

"Oh Hecate. You know you don't always have to be completely truthful. There are ways of…."

"No Pippa. She is the worst witch I've ever taught because she's the only witch that has grown up without anyone to show her our ways. She knows nothing about The Craft or The Code, her flying is abominable, and she does not have the first idea how to brew a level one potion. It is not her fault but, this should not have happened. I would have seen to her primary education. She would have come here a prepared and confident young witch".

Pippa knelt down next to her friend, "She will catch up, she has you to see to it".

…........

Their conversation was halted by the seven o'clock morning bell. I must have a bath and change, I have classes all morning", Hecate said.

"You will go to bed", said Ada, uncharacteristically sternly.

"I have the fifth years at…."

"I do not wish to treat you like a child, Hecate Hardbroom, but if I have to transfer you to your bed with a hot cup of chocolate flavour sleeping potion, I shall".

The younger witch looked taken aback and oddly intimidated "That will not be necessary, Headmistress".

Ada nodded in satisfaction and Hecate vanished herself to her quarters leaving Ada and Pippa alone. Ada leant over and picked up Hecate's teacup and stared into it.

"Will she be alright, Ada?" "Yes. She has us and now she has what she has always wanted. When the shock wears off and Mildred has been told, Hecate will have her child and the peace she has longed for. It will just take time".

"And Mildred?" asked Pippa. Ada chuckled. "Mildred Hubble, Head Witch of the Allards, no less". Both women giggled. "Mildred will be just fine. She has Hecate now and she will not let Mildred down". She placed her cup on the table. She knew Hecate and she knew Mildred. She didn't need the tea leaves to tell her anything.

…......

Pippa took all of Hecate's potions classes that morning. A triple session with the fifth years came first, then a well-earned donut break in the staffroom, followed by a short session with the first years. Squeals of delight rippled through the laboratory when the glamorous Miss Pentangle appeared at the front of the class head to toe in pink. She'd been up all night long and had freshened up in double quick time and still managed to look perfect. Mildred, in particular looked elated to see her. It had only been a few weeks since the spelling bee and Mildred had so hoped she'd see Miss Pentangle again soon.

"Well met first years. I know you weren't expecting me. I'll be following Miss Hardbroom's plan for today".

Ethel's hand shot up. "Excuse me, Miss Pentangle, where is Miss Hardbroom?"

"Oh she has a few personal things to sort out. Don't worry she'll be around later. Now what can anyone tell me about sleeping potions?" She looked around the classroom. "Mildred, how about you?"

"Don't ask the worst witch!"

"Excuse me, Ethel Hallow?" said the shocked teacher.

"They're not my words. It's what Miss Hardbroom called her yesterday". Ethel's friends sniggered at the memory.

Mildred looked down at her hands and studied her nails. She felt the familiar feeling of being out of her depth and useless.

"Mildred", she continued, "what colour should a sleeping potion be?"

As Miss Pentangle spoke, Mildred's fingernails changed, just for an instant, to a dark purple colour and back again, quickly enough for no one else to have seen.

"Purple?" asked Mildred shyly.

"Excellent, Mildred! Deep purple because of all the lavender".

Mildred felt confident during the lesson and was able to brew an adequate deep purple sleeping draft which earned her a wink from the kind teacher.

When the class was over Mildred held back as the rest of the class filed out. "Miss Pentangle, I've learned a lot today. I was thinking last night when I went to bed that I don't know if made the right choice the other week, and after today's lesson I think I made the wrong choice".

"Is this about what Miss Hardbroom said?"

Mildred nodded. "I'm so glad you've come today because I can just ask you. Is the scholarship you offered me after the spelling bee still available?"

Pippa's face darkened. "It is but…"

"You don't want me now", Mildred said sadly.

"Oh Mildred it isn't that. I think you should talk to Miss Hardbroom first. I've known her a long time and I know she doesn't always have the most tactful manner, but she has a big heart and she cares about all her pupils. She cares about you".

…...........

Just before lunch, Ada knocked gently on Hecate's door. When no reply came, she entered her deputy's office and looked around. Finding she wasn't in the room she proceeded to knock on the bedroom door, but as she did so the door opened and a fully dressed Hecate emerged, "Good Afternoon, Ada".

"Have you slept?" She asked in a rather strict manner.

"I have".

Ada looked at her closely. The younger which did look more refreshed than she'd looked a few hours earlier, and anyway, Hecate never lied. The older witch nodded approvingly. "Shall we have some tea?"

"I wasn't going to disturb you. In fact, I hoped you might still be resting. However, I'm nervous about what the Great Wizard said regarding the gossip mill at the council. Even now Ethel Hallow is waiting in the queue for the magic mirror. All it takes is for her mother to tell her whatever version of the story is doing the rounds at the Council, and Mildred will end up hearing a less that accurate account of her parentage from the class bully".

"I know that time is of the essence. I'm just not sure what exactly to say, Pippa promised to help".

"I'd start with the most important facts first. Her mother, father, the inheritance. Nothing else unless it seems right to do so". It was a strange role reversal as usually Hecate was the pragmatic, decisive one.

"Just pull the plaster off as quick as you can, and it's done".

"Okay, after school"

"Why not now? No time like the present."

"Who are you? and where is Ada?"

Ada smiled and the two women transferred away.


	9. Strive

Mildred was sitting at the long dinner table in the Great Hall eating lunch with Maud and Enid. "I heard Ms Tapioca is coming back next week", said Maud miserably. "She's only gone to look after her sister who's broken her leg. I really hoped she'd left for good".

"The food is soooo much better when she's not cooked it", added Enid.

"I think I should tell you what I was speaking to Miss Pentangle about", Mildred blurted out.

"I think we can guess, Mildred", said Maud, "but please don't leave just because of HB"

"It's not just her. I learned so much today because Miss Pentangle explains things so well".

"I don't think Miss Hardbroom explains stuff any differently. I think it's just that she makes you so nervous. But anyway, Miss Pentangle is the Head Teacher, she's not going to be your potions mistress and you could end up with anyone, so why not stick with what you know? At least you've got us, and we don't think you're the worst witch".

Maud stopped suddenly as Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle appeared behind Mildred's Chair.

"Mildred Hubble, have you finished your lunch? I need to speak to you in my office"

"Almost done, Miss Hardbroom I…" Just then, Ethel Hallow strode into the hall, her face thunderous and her eyes scanning the long tables until they came to rest on Mildred.

"Now" Miss Hardbroom shouted with a hint of panic as she vanished herself and Mildred still holding her loaded fork in her hand.

…....

"I'm sorry about that Mildred, please sit".

Mildred looked around and saw she was in Miss Hardbroom's office. She ate the food off the fork and Miss Hardbroom vanished it. She racked her brain thinking what she might have done wrong this time. Then it dawned on her.

"I'm sorry. I should have spoken to you first".

"Pardon?"

"That's what you want to talk to me about, isn't it? I should have spoken to you before Miss Pentangle".

"What have you and Miss Pentangle talked about?"

"The scholarship she offered me during the spelling bee. Last night I started to think I should have taken it. I've tried my best here but I'm not good enough so I thought I'd write to her and ask if she'd still have me, but since she taught our potions class today, I just asked her then and there, although…..although, I don't think she wants me now. She said the scholarship is still available, but she didn't look too keen. She said I should speak to you first".

"It's the first I've heard of it and it's not what I need to talk to you about, but I doubt you are right about Miss Pentangle not wanting you. Mildred noticed Miss Hardbroom was looking over her shoulder and she became aware of someone standing behind her. She turned to see the blonde pink-clad witch smiling at her.

"Sorry to startle you, Miss Cackle sent me in. And, of course, I would love to have you in my school. I don't say things I don't mean, and I haven't changed my mind about you, I still think you are a very special witch. I just think you belong here"

"Miss Hardbroom doesn't say things she doesn't mean either. I'm the worst witch you've ever taught", She said sadly turning back to face her own potions teacher. Pippa sent Hecate a look that was both pleading and threatening all at once "Careful, Hecate" her eyes seemed to say.

"Sit down, Mildred" the cogs in her head began turning. She wasn't good at this. She never really had grasped the art of tact.

"It is true you are behind in your studies. You have a lot of work to do across all areas of the curriculum. You lack understanding of the most basic principles of magic, your broomstick control is dangerously poor, you have shown...…." She caught sight of the pink witch face-palming behind Mildred, her eyes tightly shut.

"You have shown," she continued uncertainly, "…...resilience in the face of adversity. Pippa dared to open her eyes, with her palm still fixed firmly to her face.

"Every other witch in this school has received her primary education either at home or in day schools. You have had no such teaching and cannot be expected to keep up with our strict and fast paced teaching plan. It isn't that you aren't capable, you just need more time which can and will be given to you. Furthermore, you have many qualities a witch must possess that many of your classmates do not. You keep your words in good order, and your thoughts, you are kind, you persevere….... you strive to be better. Of everything this academy expects of you, the expectation to strive to be better than you are is the only one that appears on your badge". Mildred looked down at the metal pin on her uniform with the word in gold calligraphy below the black cat on the crescent moon, "strive".

"You belong here, Mildred", she continued and looked back at Pippa hoping for some reassurance. What she found was the beautiful face of her best friend beaming with pride.

"Now I wanted to talk to you about a personal matter", she said turning back to Mildred.

"I'll leave you two to it", the pink witch smiled. 

"Where are you going, Pippa?" the panic returning to Hecate's voice.

"You've got this" She flashed a smile and vanished leaving Hecate and Mildred alone staring at one another.

.........

"You must have wondered who your biological parents were?"

"All the time, Miss Hardbroom", a little surprised by the question as her teacher had never shown any interest in her background other than to sneer at it. "Especially since I've been here. At first, I thought my parents must have been magical, but no one knows of a Hubble family. I even went to the library and found an enormous book on the magical families of Britain but there were no Hubbles listed. I asked Miss Bat and there's definitely never been a Hubble here at Cackles, she checked the archives for me. I guess I'm just from a non-magical family and that's okay. Miss Pentangle says there are others like me but it's rare".

"You aren't from a non-magical family. Last night I found out who your father is and who your mother was. Are you ready for me to tell you?"

Mildred could not believe the words she was hearing. She allowed them to sink in and recognised the change in tense for her mother.

"My mum is dead?"

"I'm sorry, it was many years ago".

Hecate conjured a black handkerchief and offered it to the girl.

"Come with me".

Hecate led the girl into her bedroom and sat herself down at her dressing table. She opened the draw and took out the same large wooden box she had opened the night before. This time she took out a photograph and gave it to Mildred.

"Sit down on the bed". Mildred did as she was told in a trance and found herself staring at a picture of a young woman with beautiful delicate features, green sparkling eyes and auburn hair that fell in waves that ended in perfect ringlets, she looked like one of those paintings of Guinevere, she was almost fairylike. "Is she really my mum?" she asked as she wiped her eyes with the black handkerchief.

"Yes Mildred, her name was Audrey Allard. I know you will have a lot of questions. I'll answer anything I can".

She had so many questions forming in her head, she simply did not know where to begin so Hecate simply continued. "Late last night The Grand Wizard came to the castle unannounced to speak to me because he wanted to find Aurora Allard, Audrey's daughter. No one knew at that point she was already here. Do you know how a locator spell works?"

The girl shook her head.

"If the target of a locator spell is a person, then you need an object that the individual once owned or at the very least touched. The Great Wizard came to ask if I had such an object that could help him locate Aurora. I had a silver rattle and during the spell it showed us where she was and who she is".

"Why did you have her…....my rattle?"

Ada's words rang through Hecate's mind. Keep to the most important facts, her mother her father, the inheritance. "Your father is Hugo Hardbroom, my brother. I had it because I am your Aunt". Mildred's mouth fell open.

"You'll be wondering why the Great Wizard needed to find you" If Mildred was honest, she was processing so much already she really hadn't got there yet, but she listened carefully.

Hecate explained as best she could, but the trouble was that Mildred did not understand the complex hierarchical systems of magical families. Hecate was patient as half of it was lost on most witches these days. However, Mildred did not really get the concept of Head Witch and had never heard of a book of shadows. Hecate realised she would have to dedicate proper time to teach her, but for now, this idiots guide to magical genealogy would have to suffice.

"So, a grimoire and a book of shadows are the same thing", Mildred tried.

"Yes"

"And it's like a crown?"

"Pardon"

"A crown. A grimoire is a kind of symbol. Like, ooh look at me I'm Head Witch this is my grimoire".

The older witch narrowed her eyes a little despairingly, but then she thought, the child wasn't actually wrong.

"Yes, a grimoire is a symbol of supreme status within a witching family, but it also contains the spells and traditions and history of that dynasty".

"So do my family hate me because they wanted the book?"

"They are most likely reeling from the shock, but they will simply have to learn to afford you the respect you deserve as head of their family". Hecate sat up even straighter and placed both her hands on her lap, her expression changed as her eyebrows raised and her lips stretched a little into a small but certain smile. "So, they can grumble all they like, this is how it is".

Mildred still looked unsure and Hecate's face softened a little, "I know that when they actually meet you, and they are able to get to know you, they will like you, everyone does". Mildred smiled at that, however, her face almost immediately darkened and Hecate who was not very good at reading people, knew the question she was dreading was about the come. She waited in silence looking at the girls face until, at last, the question came".

"Why was I left at a police station when I was a year old?"


	10. The Code

"Are you sure you want to do this now? You've already had a lot of information."

"Please tell me".

Hecate sighed. She would have to learn the truth at some point. "Very well. When a witch is born, she is immediately tested for magical reflexes. These are tiny sparks of magic that are given off when you try to unclasp the baby's fists or stroke her feet or touch just beneath her eyes. When these tests were performed on you, there were no such sparks though you were a perfectly heathy baby. You should understand that a non-magical baby girl born to a magical mother is almost unheard of and is far rarer than a witch born to a non-magical mother. As you know, the Modern Witches' Code that governs The Craft dates from the seventeen-century, a time when we were cruelly persecuted. Witch-hunters were known to offer young, terrified witches an official pardon if they testified against their sisters, mothers and grandmothers. The Code was written foremost for the protection of our kind at a moment in history when witches and wizards lived in constant fear and suspicion. The witch trials of the 1640s left a legacy of anxiety and paranoia. It is why so much of The Code deals with the consequences of exposing another witch. The section pertaining to babies born without magic is barely ever invoked because it is so rare an occurrence". Hecate stopped and looked away from the girl in front of her. "The Code is not always kind, Mildred. It states that the infant must be cast out of our world, and sent to the non-magical world before they can speak so there is no possibility of her exposing us".

"But that is horrible" Mildred's eyes were wide and horrified as her voice broke into tears".

"I quite agree, Mildred. The Code can be terribly cruel".

"My parents just let it happen?"

"Audrey died just after you were born. She was never told you weren't showing any magical signs, she is blameless in this. My brother wasn't around because by then he'd left Audrey and he didn't even know you'd been born until you were a few weeks old. Both sets of grandparents were devastated about your non-magical status, but they did not challenge the Great Wizard when he informed them what would have to happen".

Tears were now streaming down Mildred's face. Hecate tried to sooth her by taking both her hands in hers, but she wasn't good at this. Why did Pippa have to go? Hecate couldn't do this. She was the worst witch for this task.

"But….. I was about one when I was left at the police station. Where was I before that?"

"You were with me".

Mildred looked up.

"I persuaded the Great Wizard to give you more time. I argued that he should at least wait until your father returned". He agreed but when Hugo finally came home there was still no magic. I took you home with me and tried to buy more time. I researched what little is written about the subject and I found some articles suggesting infant witches do not always show those new-born signs. Other reflexes appear at six to nine months and I convinced the Great Wizard he should at least wait till then. I experimented with poorly-evidenced methods to try to encourage magic, any kind of magic. I tried putting your toys out of reach so you might use some of the early rudimentary non-verbal summoning spells that babies use, instead you learned to crawl towards them much faster than magical babies usually do. But ten months went by and there was still nothing. The Great Wizard came to insist it was time I must let you go but I tried one more time. I asked if you could stay just until you said your first words. Many babies go through a phase of simple non-verbal magic until they learn to talk, at which point they use verbal commands as they quickly realise that they are far more precise. I convinced him that you may just be a child that did not go through this rudimentary non-verbal spell phase, and that you needed to develop language in order to use magic. He was not happy, but he said you could stay until you turned thirteen months but no longer. I accepted that".

"But I still didn't show any magic"

"I tried to encourage you" I was always showing you simple little spells that babies do without even realising, like blowing bubbles through a wand and changing their iridescent colours from blue to pink or green". Hecate smiled as she remembered how that had delighted the little tot.

"You must have been so disappointed that I couldn't do any of it".

"Mildred, you amazed me every day. You made me more and more proud with each tiny step you took and every word you learned. I would have ripped up The Code and bent and reshaped our whole world to make it acceptable for you and not have changed you to suit our world. But when the Great Wizard came on the day you turned thirteen months old, I couldn't bear to let you go. I told him I'd give you all of my magic, but of course I was dreaming. A witch cannot give a non-magical person magic, let alone a baby. It would have destroyed you. They took you away. I'm so sorry".

"You would have given me your magic, Miss Hardbroom?"

"In a heartbeat."


	11. Mother Hubble

There were now just a few days left of term and it had been almost a week since Mildred's world had been turned upside down. It would take a long time for her to come to terms with everything she'd learned, but she was getting used to the idea that she was Miss Hardbroom's niece and that she was from, not just any magical family, but the powerful Allard family. It all still felt a bit surreal but each day she felt just a little more confident. Miss Hardbroom had taken her aside to work on potions, flying, and essay writing. The girl was still making basic errors and the teacher was still a little impatient, but both could tell the other was trying hard. Best of all, her Aunt had asked her if she would accompany her to a cottage where she would spend the half term break. Mildred was a bit apprehensive about being with her still-a-little-terrifying potions mistress 24/7, but she was delighted to have been invited as she didn't relish the idea of being at school alone for the holiday.

Mildred had received a letter from the Magic Council informing her that she would soon be visited by a representative who would bring the book of shadows and the other magical objects with them and would witness her sign the papers to formally accept her inheritance. Mildred felt more than a little daunted and it all made her feel a bit dizzy. It was so unexpected and seemed like such a responsibility. Miss Hardbroom had given her newspaper and magazine articles to read about the Allard family and, in particular, Jacqueline Allard who was something of a celebrity in France complete with her own fashion label and make-up line. Among the cuttings was an obituary of Augustine Allard who had apparently tripled the already enormous family fortune with her shrewd head for business, and the respect she so easily commanded, and she'd held the family together through thick and thin and numerous scandals. Mildred learned that The Allards owned businesses and employed thousands of people world-wide. Of course, there would be people to take care of things for her while she was an underage witch, but eventually she would have to step up to the plate. There would be no more thinking what she'd like to be when she grew up, it was all mapped out for her. She'd grown in confidence, but she wasn't Head Witch material just yet. She knew she would be compared to the brilliant and formidable Augustine Allard all her life and she couldn't imagine that she, Mildred Hubble, would ever live up to expectations.

Ethel had been more trouble than ever in the past week. She had started calling her Mother Hubble, 'mother' being an ancient term of respect for a greatly knowledgeable Head Witch. She would say, "What would Mother Hubble do?" And then proceeded to list ingredients that were sure to make a cauldron explode or a spell that was bound to backfire. This had soon turned into a ditty complete with a choreographed dance routine that Ethel and her crew would perform during most break-times and sing in most lessons just loud enough for Mildred to hear. Although Mildred wasn't quite as bothered by Ethel's putdowns now that she knew she was from a witching family, the song was irritating and made her think about the whole inheritance thing. She hoped Ethel would get bored of it sooner rather than later.

….

Mildred was walking to Spell Science with Maud and Enid and they were talking about the end of year exams which were still a whole term away, but the mocks were straight after the half term holiday and the teachers were piling on the work. As they passed the mirror room, the door opened and outstepped Ethel looking far too pleased herself. When she noticed Mildred looking at her, she turned a triumphant grin back at her and said, "Mother Hubble, how wonderful to see you looking so relaxed under the circumstances".

Mildred gave her a confused look.

"Oh, so you haven't heard?"

"What in the name of Merlin's stripy underpants are you on about" Asked Enid.

"Don't Enid", cut in Maud, "she only wants a reaction".

"Don't you want to know what my mother told me on the mirror just now? It's very interesting", she said extra sweetly.

"Not particularly, thank you", replied Mildred.

"Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't try to tell you first" Ethel warned as they walked through the door of Mr Rowan-Webb's classroom.

"Ok Ladies, the science of broomstick flight. A fascinating topic I'm sure you'll find". As Mr Rowan-Webb turned his back to draw a picture of a broomstick on the blackboard, Ethel began to whisper to Drusilla whose mouth dropped open as she turned to whisper to Felicity who, with a shocked expression, turned to tap Imelda on the arm. Ethel was now smiling cruelly at Mildred. In the past week, Mildred hadn't reacted to any of Ethel's antics, and if she were honest, they were starting to get boring, but this performance was unnerving. Mildred glanced at Enid and Maud and she could tell they were worried too. What had Ethel's mother told her?

Mr Rowan-Webb turned to face his class to see that with the exception of Mildred, Maud and Enid, all the girls were now whispering to each other behind their hands, some were even out of their seats and sitting by their friends' desks in deep whispered conversation.

"I'm sorry" the wizard shouted. "Am I interrupting something important".

"Please Mr Rowan Webb", Drusilla called as she raised her hand. "We were discussing a particular section of the witches' code. What does it mean if someone invokes section 16 C again you?"

"A section 16C? Surely you know what that is, girls?"

"We thought so, Sir, but now we're not sure," said Ethel.

Mildred turned her head automatically to look at Maud. "What's a section 16C?" But Maud looked pale and lost for words. She just shook her head.

"Section 16 is the part of the Witches' Code that deals with what happens when a concern is raised that a witch is not able to use her magic safely" began Mr Rowan-Webb. "For instance, if she cannot control her spells to such a degree that there is potential for harm to herself or other witches. It is distinct from Section 7 which deals with concerns about witches being wilfully reckless with magic. Although both these sections have, on rare occasions, resulted in a witch having her witching competency revoked for a time or worse, having her magical powers removed permanently".

Now Mildred's heart was hammering.

"Clause C of section 16 is what, in theory, a witch could invoke against any sister witch that she thought was dangerous. She'd need evidence, of course".

"That's exactly what we thought, Sir", Ethel began in an innocent tone, "but what we don't understand", she said as she turned her smug face on the pale girl she loved to make miserable, "Is how Jacqueline Allard can invoke a section 16 C against Mildred?"

…..........

"I'm sorry Mildred none of us knew", said Miss Cackle as she sat at her desk in her office, "but I have just mirrored the Great Wizard and I'm afraid he has confirmed it. He had it first-hand from the French Grand Mage earlier today. I am sorry you had to find out the way you did, and I shall be speaking to Miss Hallow".

Mildred was sitting opposite Miss Cackle, and Miss Hardbroom was standing behind Mildred with her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Will they take my magic?"

"No!" shouted Miss Hardbroom right down Mildred's ear. "No", she repeated more softly.

"I've never heard of section 16 C being invoked against a child", Miss Cackle said.

"It's ridiculous, and it is cruel. All so they can prove Mildred can't inherit!" replied the other witch.

Mildred looked from one livid teacher to the other. "What will I have to do?"

Miss Cackle answered "You will have to appear before the French Magic Council in Paris. As for what you will have to do, the Great Wizard isn't exactly sure. In the case of a grown witch, she is tested on basic to intermediate practical magic and some theory, similar to the exams the fifth years take for their Witches' Junior Certificates, but of course you won't be assessed with tests designed for witches four years older than you. The hope is you will just be asked to brew a potion and cast a couple of spells".

"That doesn't sound so bad as long as they tell me which ones I have to do beforehand"

"My thoughts exactly", she smiled, "however, apparently, there is a Test of Magical Ability for ten to fourteen-year-olds and it seems Guion and Jacqueline Allard are pushing for that".

"Test of Magical Ability?" spat Miss Hardbroom, "I have never heard of such a test". Ada held up a hand, "Hecate we just don't know what Mildred will have to face yet, nor indeed, when, but the Great Wizard has assured me he will write to you and Mildred when more is known".

"That dreadful woman. What evidence could she possibly have against Mildred?"

"Well, I did accidentally turn Ethel into a pig, Miss Hardbroom." Hecate opened her mouth to speak but then shut it again.

"And I've blown up the potions lab a few times, and they could bring up the fact that I didn't actually pass the entrance exam and then there was that time when…."

"Yes, thank you, Mildred Hubble", Miss Hardbroom cut across her, clearly stressed as she put her palm to her forehead and shut her eyes. "This is no good. We cannot worry about this until we know more. I suggest you focus on your mock tests and the end of year examinations. When we do know more, we shall prepare for it, together. Now, off you go". Mildred left the office.

"While you're here, Hecate, there are a couple of things", Ada said, "this came for you this morning".

Ada handed Hecate a cream envelope with the Hardbroom crest moulded into a green wax seal. She turned it over almost expecting to see her father's beautiful distinctive calligraphy on the other side, but of course the seal now belonged to the current Lord Hardbroom, and she read her name followed by the school's address scrawled in Hugo's less than perfect cursive. She opened the letter and began to read while Ada watched her with concern etched on her face.

"He's heard about Mildred and he's coming to visit when school recommences in two weeks".

"How do you feel about that"

Hecate shrugged. "He's Mildred's father, I can't stop him coming here. You said there were a couple of things, Headmistress?"

"Yes. It's rather odd. Ms Tapioca asked for some time off to care for her sister who has broken her leg. She ought to have been back at the start of the week, but she hasn't returned, and she isn't answering her mirror".

"That is odd. I shall ask the temporary replacement, Miss Mab, if she can stay a few more days".


	12. Belladonna

The next morning, a cheery little witch waved to Mildred as she arrived at the serving station for her porridge.

"Hello, I'm Mildred, are you the witch that's been filling in for Ms Tapioca?"

"I am dear," said the kind looking dinner witch, "I'm Miss Mab, tell me, how do you like your porridge?"

"Oh, we don't usually get asked that?"

"How about some berries this morning?"

Mildred's face lit up when Miss Mab produced a little bowl of blueberries, cut strawberries, blackberries and others that Mildred couldn't identify and sprinkled some on her porridge.

"You're the best Miss Mab, thanks", she replied and went to sit at the first years' table with Maud and Enid. Maud was tucking into her breakfast with gusto. "Mmm the porridge is even better today". The other two nodded in agreement.

"Hey! She gave you berries", said Maud slightly annoyed.

"So you've finished your essay for HB then Mil?" asked Enid.

"Oh bats, no! I got side-tracked last night, trying to find out what I could about this stupid Magical Ability Test I might have to do. I need to go and get my essay finished before potions".

"But HB is your auntie," said Enid, surely if anyone can get away with not doing stuff now it's you?"

"I'm not sure that's how our relationship works. I need to go now, see you later".

…..

Miss Tapioca landed her broom just outside the great entrance of the castle. She dismounted and tutted as her foot went straight into a cold puddle. As she shook the rain off her waterproof cloak, the great oak doors opened to reveal an unimpressed Miss Hardbroom, poker straight, arms by her side, standing in the foyer. "Ah the wanderer returns. And where have you been this past week, Miss Tapioca?"

"Costa Del Sol" She replied in her East End accent. "Ooh I needed it and it was good to spend a bit of time with my Mabel. The weather isn't like this there I can tell you", she said as she looked up at the grey sky.

Miss Hardbroom looked at the woman in front of her with her ridiculously burned red nose and forehead as though she were about to explode with rage.

"Something wrong, Miss H?"

"The Costa Del Sol?" She repeated slowly annunciating each syllable.

"I'm so grateful to Miss Cackle for the letter and gift, most unexpected it was, but so good to know I'm appreciated for what I do".

"I'm sorry, what letter? What gift?" 

"My thank you note and tickets to Spain for my ten years of continued service"

"You have not worked here ten years." Her eyes becoming wider and more terrifying by the second. 

"Aw you know what they say, Miss H? when good luck taps you on the shoulder, just smile and say thanks. Let's just say I've had it early shall we? I'm not planning to move on"

"Ms Tapioca! Miss Cackle did not write to you nor did she make you a present of tickets to Spain, nor did she give you permission to go on holiday during term time."

"Oi, Miss High and Mighty! I've had just about enough of you lording it about. Just coz you don't appreciate how hard I work for this school don't mean Miss Cackle don't. Read it, go on!" Miss Tapioca turned over her hand and there appeared a letter on Cackle's Academy headed paper. Miss Hardbroom snatched it and read,

Dear Ms Tapioca,

Please accept my enormous gratitude for the continued service you have given to Cackle's Academy for the last ten years. It gives me great pleasure to enclose two BroomAir tickets to Malaga for you and your daughter, Mabel.

Have a wonderful and well-deserved break and I shall see you on your return.

Sincerely yours,

Ada Cackle

Headmistress

Miss Hardbroom vanished in a cloud of black smoke leaving a rather confused Miss Tapioca standing in the puddle of rainwater she had brought in.

….................

"How odd", Miss Cackle said after reading the letter. "Who would forge a note like this and send it to Ms Tapioca?"

A rather worrying thought crossed Hecate's mind. "Someone who wanted her out of the way for a while."

….................

Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom appeared together in the kitchen, making a dinner witch jump and drop a tray with three bowls of porridge on the floor.

"Where is Miss Mab?" Called Ada.

"Wish we knew, said another witch as she heaved an enormous pot out of a cupboard, "She was 'ere for five minutes this morning then vanished. I 'ope Ms Tapioca's back soon". Miss Hardbroom snapped her fingers and the newly returned Head Dinner Witch appeared looking annoyed and holding a pair of briefs. "You might have given me time to unpack".

"If anyone sees Miss Mab, please inform Miss Hardbroom or me immediately". Just as they were about to transfer away, a panic-stricken Esmerelda Hallow ran into the kitchen, "Oh Miss Cackle, Miss Hardbroom, thank the bats I've found you. One of the first years has taken badly ill in the Great Hall".

................…..

The Great Hall was in chaos when the two teachers appeared. The girls were all huddled together around the first years' table. "Mind out of the way" called Miss Hardbroom and the girls felt themselves being pulled back by an invisible hand. As the way cleared, Hecate saw Enid crouched on the floor crying. "Enid", she called, "Are you alright?" She lifted her tearstained face up to look at her teacher and as she did so, revealed an unconscious Maud Spellbody lying on the floor.

Within an instant Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle had transferred her to the infirmary. The usually quiet school hospital wing was soon a frenetic ward with extra nurses and specialists appearing all around in coloured mists.

"We just don't know anything yet, Miss Cackle", said the school nurse. "It looks like some kind of poison, but we are running tests to identify exactly what we're dealing with".

"Poison!", said Ada as she turned a horrified face towards Hecate. "In her breakfast?"

"I suggest you inform the Great Wizard. Tell him everything including that Miss Mab has mysteriously vanished", Hecate advised. The nurses own emergency hand mirror began a booming chime. "Oh Merlin, no!" she exclaimed as she read her message, "we've another one on her way down". Ada and Hecate ran out of the nurse's office to see Miss Drill and Mr Rowan-Webb appear on the ward carrying a lifeless Mildred Hubble.

"Mildred! Is she…?"

"No, Hecate" Replied Miss Drill, "there's a faint pulse". 

She ran over to where Mildred was being placed into bed, but a nurse grabbed her by the shoulders. I'm sorry, this girl is far too ill, we need you to let us do our job". The curtains closed around the bed and she felt Ada's arm around her shoulders. 

Someone placed a cup of steaming hot potion for nerves in Hecate's hands and told her to wait in the nurse's office along with Mavis Spellbody who had transferred as soon as Miss Cackle had mirrored her. Mavis was bent over and crying into a handkerchief while Hecate was sitting bolt upright, her expression neutral as she stared into space but she was deathly pale and her cup was juddering in her shaking hands. A little later, Enid had come to see her friends but had been told to go, however, Miss Hardbroom had jumped up from her seat at hearing the girl's voice outside and invited her into the nurse's office.

"What did Maud and Mildred eat at breakfast?"

Enid looked blankly at her teacher, not knowing if this was some kind of trick question. There wasn't a choice, Cackle's was no Hilton. "Porridge, Miss Hardbroom".

The teacher sighed.

"Although, it's probably nothing but…"

"Please Enid, what is it?" Asked Ms Spellbody.

Enid thought about what had actually happened. "We were all eating our porridge, but when Mildred was only half way through hers, she remembered she'd erm…left her potions book in her room, so she left".

"Well you know Maud, waste not want not," she imitated her friend.

Miss Hardbroom's eyes widened. "Are you saying that Maud finished Mildred's breakfast?"

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom, and Maud said how unfair it was that Miss Mab gave Mildred berries but no one else".

"Thank you, Enid, that will be all. You may go back to class"

After a very long-seeming hour or so, a doctor came in followed by Miss Cackle.

"We have the results of the tests. We now know what poisoned Maud and Mildred. Atropa Belladonna, also known as Deadly Nightshade". All three witches gasped. Miss Hardbroom told Ada and the doctor what she had learned from Enid.

"While both girls are very poorly, they will make a full recovery", the doctor said, "but be under no illusion, if Mildred had eaten all of the poison berries, she'd be dead".


	13. Toad's legs and toasters

Mildred began to stir. She felt groggy and her mouth was very dry. Where was she? Certainly not in her draughty attic room, the bed was far too warm and cosy. She opened her eyes and found herself in a tiny box room with a wooden beamed ceiling and a small cottage window. Before she had a chance to even guess at where she was or how she had got there, she heard Miss Hardbroom's soft voice call her name and take hold of her hand.

"How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty", came a raspy voice that Mildred could barely recognise as her own.

As her Aunt poured some water for her, Mildred tried to speak again but was stopped.

"Drink this. We are in a cottage at the edge of the school's grounds. No one knows we are here". If Mildred hadn't felt so awful, she may have wondered at the mysterious way the woman's eyes flicked nervously to the window and back to Mildred. However, she was far too tired to register it and was asleep again in moments.

Mildred dreamed she was clinging on to a mast of an oak warship as thunder and lightning crashed above her head. Panic-stricken men were jumping overboard as the fires took hold and which now threatened to catch the bottom of the mast. She knew she would have to let go. As the ship was thrown around like a toy on the giant waves, she felt the solid oak mast give way and begin to snap and she found herself dangling over a monstrous ocean. She let go and as she fell through the air, she held her breath and prepared herself to hit through freezing water. She woke with a muffled thud as her head hit a soft pillow and she took in a large wheezing breath of cold air coming in through the cottage window.

"Mildred! It's all right, it was just a dream" came a soft voice. 

"I didn't know if I was going to drown or burn," Mildred wheezed.

"A common enough neurosis in a witch, do not worry, you're safe", said Miss Hardbroom, calmly. "You've been having lots of wild dreams and hallucinations, but you're all right".

Mildred was so confused. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, what day it was, where she was, and could not begin to imagine why her terrifying form mistress/potions teacher was looking after her. She took in the woman's ever so slightly looser hairstyle and kitted roll neck jumper, black of course, which Mildred noted would have passed for casual had anyone else been wearing it, however, Miss Hardbroom, with her straight posture and impeccably tidy hair was apparently incapable of looking casual. After a few moments, things started to come back. Miss Hardbroom was her father's sister – Aunty Hecate, Merlin's pants - it was still so weird!

"Do you remember where you are?"

Mildred looked around at the tiny room with the exposed wooden beams.

"Your cottage?"

"A cottage in the school's grounds, yes. You've been very ill, Mildred, but you are better now. All you need is rest".

"How long have I been….?"

"A week, and now it's half term so you have plenty time to recover fully."

"I'm tired but I feel fine. Can I mirror Maud and Enid?"

"I'm sorry, no. No one can know you're here".

"Are you awake, Mildred?" The door opened to reveal a smiling Miss Pentangle dressed in her usual shade of bright pink, "Hello sweetheart!"

"I thought no one could know I was here?"

…

After a couple of days with the two witches insisting she stay in bed, Mildred was very bored. The ever-thoughtful Miss Pentangle had brought some age appropriate witch magazines and the girl enjoyed reading about celebrity witches and teen-witch fashion, but she was desperate to get out of bed and walk around. She crept out of her room onto a tiny landing. Other than her room, there were 2 others, one was a small bathroom and the other was a bedroom only a little bigger than her own. She could hear the soft voices of the two witches downstairs. She knew she would be sent back to bed immediately if she ventured down, so she quietly sat at the top of stairs and listened.

"So, they can't link it back to Guion and Jacqueline? Unbelievable!" Pippa's voice was uncharacteristically angry.

"They offered Melinda Mab a lesser sentence if she named who she was working for, but what's the point of less time in prison if you know that at the end of it, you will be killed by the Allards".

"Well at least they caught Mab, and thank the gods both girls are okay"

"Yes, Ada spoke to Mavis Spellbody yesterday. Maud recovered much more quickly than Mildred. She couldn't have eaten much of the porridge".

At that Mildred was horrified.

"What are you talking about? What's the matter with Maud? Why is Miss Mab going to prison?"

"Mildred you should be in bed."

"No. Tell me what you were talking about!"

"Come down here", Pippa said. "Hecate, she needs to know for her own protection."

Mildred descended the narrow staircase that led to a cosy sitting/ dining room. Miss Hardbroom and Miss Pentangle were sitting at a dinner table, a cosy fire was ablaze behind them casting a warm glow on the two witches. 

Miss Hardbroom cleared her throat, "There was Deadly Nightshade in your porridge. Miss Mab gave you the poison mixed with some other berries, you didn't eat it all, but Maud finished what you left of it. What?" She addressed the final word to her blond friend who was looking at her in horror.

"I'd have eased her in a bit more gently"

"Oh I'm sorry, should I have said It's all right Mildred dear, don't be alarmed but your family have just tried to murder you?"

"You were just a bit blunt that's all."

Mildred's eyes darted between the two arguing witches, she could just imagine them as teenage friends. They were…..cute. "I've got the gist of it. Thanks."

"Are you all right" asked Pippa.

"Jacqueline Allard tried to have me taken care of. The only reason I'm not dead is because I forgot to do my potions homework, so I left half of my breakfast to get it done."

"No one knows you're here. You are safe, Mildred and Maud is fine too", Pippa whispered while softly placing her hand on one of Mildred's.

Hecate placing her own fingers on the girl's other hand, and imitating Pippa's sweet tone asked, "How exactly does one forget to do homework?"

Pippa and Mildred stifled giggles.

"So how long have you been here Miss Pentangle?"

"We're not at school. Call me Pippa! I've been here since you were discharged from the school infirmary a couple of days ago".

"I'm so glad you're here Pippa". Mildred turned to look at Miss Hardbroom.

"Is there a problem, Mildred?"

"Miss Pentangle wants me to call her Pippa".

"I suppose you can as long as you are not in school".

"Okay, Miss Hardbroom", she exaggerated the title.

"Oh, I see". She was silent a moment while she gave it some thought. "You may call me Hecate while we are here. Only while we are here".

"Thanks, Hecate!" Mildred smiled cheekily.

"You must be hungry"

"Starving. I really fancy some toast"

Hecate got up to make it, but Mildred said, "honestly, I'm sure I can find some bread and a toaster".

"Some bread and a what?" Hecate looked quizzical"

"A….toaster? You…. plug it in…", neither Hecate nor Pippa looked any the wiser, "then you put the bread in, twist a dial and your toast pops up two minutes later........ it's like magic!" she added hoping it would help the older women imagine it. 

"Yes, well that sounds fascinating", Hecate said as she got up and walked to the corner of the room where there was a tiny kitchen area, "but alas, I do not own a toaster, so I'll have to rely on actual magic to toast the bread".

"I'm so pleased you've recovered Mildred. We were so worried about you", said Pippa. "Hecate didn't leave your bedside for three days while you were in the school infirmary I was worried about both of you".

Mildred smiled at her aunt, and Hecate returned a slightly embarrassed half smile.

"Hecate has been amazing", beamed Mildred. "She's been helping me with everything, especially potions. I'm getting better!"

"Oh, I have no doubt", replied Pippa"

"Well she's better than she was in her first potions lesson, anyway".

Mildred wanted to laugh.

"Am I allowed to ask what happened in your first potions lesson?"

Mildred and Hecate exchanged glances.

"Hecate asked me what the two main uses of toads' legs were. I said jumping and swimming".

Pippa let out a hearty laugh.

Much to Mildred's surprise, Hecate bit her lower lip to stifle a smile, which Mildred had discovered was the closest her aunt ever came to laughing.

"Oh, she thinks it's funny now?" laughed Mildred, "She wasn't too impressed at the time"

"I bet she wasn't," Pippa beamed, her eyes darted at Hecate with a knowing fondness as she imagined the scene.

Mildred put on her most serious face and gave Pippa a wide-eyed stare, "Mildred Hubble", she said slowly and smoothly, "I thought even with your amphibian-like intellect you would realise I was referring to their uses in potion making and not when still attached to a living toad".

"That was a scarily accurate impression" giggled Pippa.

"I'm sorry Mildred", said her visibly ashamed aunt.

"I forgive you, Hecate, and if I'd known then you didn't know how a toaster worked, I wouldn't have taken you seriously at all".


	14. Signals, stars and a pink moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit long......just so you know.  
> Also, if you like my story, please let me know xxxx

Mildred was now almost back to full strength and apart from getting tired easily, she felt fine.

"Well if you are well enough, you should be revising for your mock tests which begin next week. And did you say there was a potions essay you forgot about?"

"Yes" Mildred said miserably.

"I'll expect that by the end of tomorrow", Hecate said firmly. "I have enough relevant literature in the bookcase in my room. You may help yourself".

"You're too kind"

"Also, you have a letter from the magic council. I know because I have been sent a copy"

Mildred felt her heart beating fast as she took the envelope from Hecate and began to read. "They want me to take that stupid magical ability test!" she said absolutely horrified.

"Yes, but the better news is that I have at least managed to track down a copy of it. I made enquiries last week just in case. It has been delivered to the academy, so I shall look through it when we return on Monday. Now go and do some work, Pippa and I have to prepare ingredients for the ritual tonight."

"What are we celebrating again?"

"We are blessing the Full Pink Moon" Hecate answered.

"Why is it pink?"

"It isn't"

"Oh that's…..disappointing".

"Isn't it, just", agreed the pink clad Pippa peeking out from behind her magazine and pulling out her lower lip.

…

Mildred was in Hecate's room looking at a small bookcase, groaning with heavy books tightly packed into it. She looked through the titles, 'The Howard Witches and English History', 'Herbs and their medicinal properties', other titles with names Mildred couldn't even pronounce and 'Basic potions for Junior Witches'. Bingo! As she took the book off the shelf, a few others fell like dominoes, she tried to put them back neatly and as she did so, she noticed a thin photo album with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the front. She knew she shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of her. She opened it and flicked through page after page of pictures of a very young and pretty Miss Hardbroom with another young woman who Mildred recognised as her mother, Audrey. They looked like they were having the time of their lives posing in all the usual tourist spots; the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower; the Ritz. Some were close ups of Hecate on her own who smiled shyly at the camera. In every picture Audrey looked like a model in beautiful floaty, lacy outfits, while Hecate wore shapeless grey tops and jeans and cardigans. Mildred couldn't believe Miss Hardbroom had ever owned a pair of jeans. However, in one picture where Audrey and Hecate were sitting at a restaurant table, Hecate was wearing a grey silk blouse that looked lovely on her. A candle was in the middle of the table. They were holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes.

The door opened and Pippa walked in. "Mildred, I was looking for you, I'm not sure you're supposed to be in here".

"No it's okay, Hecate told me to come in here to get a potions book for my essay".

"What have you got there?"

"Photos of Hecate and my mum."

Pippa sat on the floor next to Mildred.

"I didn't know they were friends"

"Hecate met your mum during her year abroad in France when she was a student at university. When the year was over, Hecate brought Audrey home with her to Hardbroom Hall. That's when she met your dad".

"And her and my dad ended up getting married?"

"That's right"

"What was my mum like?"

"Audrey was beautiful and full of life"

"Did you like her?"

Pippa hesitated before replying, "I didn't really know her"

"Is that a no then?"

Pippa was silent for a moment and looked at the pictures of her and Hecate. "I was jealous of her".

"Why?"

Pippa paused and looked uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry. She was beautiful, and she was the Allard heiress. She had everything and everyone was jealous but that's no way to be, is it? She was never anything but sweet on the occasions I met her. Now put that back where you found it, Mildred".

Mildred did as she was told but she wasn't convinced that Pippa was jealous because her mum was rich. Pippa didn't seem the type to care about that, and as for her mum being beautiful…Pippa was just as beautiful.

….

"So, what's special about this Pink Moon that isn't pink?" enquired Mildred.

"Witches bless every full moon", began Hecate, whose long hair was loose and fell in thick raven waves, she looked beautiful and dramatic, "a ritual is performed where we make a potion and say out loud what we wish for ourselves and others. It is a good time to reflect and cast away our fears, doubts and negative energies, but, the Full Pink Moon is particularly associated with rebirth and renewal, because it appears at the beginning of Spring. Some witches believe that there is potential during this full moon to make recent improvements and positive energies permanent. I thought you may want to harness that potential given how you've improved in your studies and your confidence".

Mildred considered this. It was very much a fresh start for her. In the course of a fortnight she had found out everything she had always longed to know. She knew who her parents were, she'd seen pictures of her mother, she had a whole extended family, okay, some of them were trying to kill her, but she had Hecate. It was so odd, just a couple of weeks ago, she had hated the woman more than anyone alive, but now the witch had opened up her home to her, nursed her back to health and had promised she would help her fight to keep her magic, just as she had fought for her and been a mother to her during her first year of life. Hecate was not good at showing her feelings, but Mildred instinctively felt safe and loved more than she had ever felt it before. Yes, she thought, I want this to last forever.

...

Pippa seemed a little subdued during dinner. "Are you okay Pippa?" asked Mildred.

"Just thinking about the last time we were all here".

"Have you been here before?"

"Of course. This is where you lived with Hecate when you were a baby and I came to help"

"I didn't know this was where we lived"

"Miss Cackle lent this cottage to me when I needed it and I sometimes come back here in the holidays"

"What was I like?"

"Loud. Very, very loud and very, very hungry", said Hecate.

"But very, very sweet and cuddly", added Pippa smiling. "Right", she continued standing up, "We need to get ready for the witching hour"

Pippa began placing wooden logs on the stones outside the cottage, then she brought out a cauldron and a stand and placed it over the wood. Pippa carefully laid out the herbs she and Hecate had gathered earlier in the day and bound into little bundles. When midnight finally arrived, the three witches sat around the fire. Hecate began to speak.

"During this Full Pink Moon, I cast away trouble and negative energies, guilt and grief" she cast sage onto the fire, "in so doing I make space for positive energy, happiness and trust", she threw mint into the cauldron.

Pippa spoke next,

"Mother Moon, during this Full Pink Moon, I cast away trouble and negative energies, jealousy and sadness, and in so doing I make space for positive energy, love and joy", she threw lavender and cinnamon into the cauldron.

Mildred looked at Hecate who gave her a reassuring nod.

"Mother Moon", Mildred began, "During this Full Pink Moon, I cast away trouble and negative energy, self-doubt and fear, and in so doing I make space for positive energy, knowledge and confidence", she looked down at the herbs and Hecate whispered, "rosemary for knowledge and nettle for confidence". Mildred selected the suggested ingredients and added them to the cauldron.

Hecate began, "I thank you for returning those that were lost to me, Mildred and Pippa, love and friendship"

Pippa continued, "I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of the rebuilding of this family and to help guide Mildred for what is to come"

And finally, Mildred added, "I thank you for returning me to this place and the love and safety I have with Hecate and Pippa"

Hecate spoke again. "I ask the goddess to protect Mildred. I ask the goddess to bless Mildred with success in her endeavours"

Pippa and Hecate said is unison, "We thank you goddess of the night, for your light and energy which I draw from you tonight to lighten the path ahead and to help us light the paths of others".

"We just stay here for a while and breathe in the scent of the herbs we've mixed, then we put out the fire and leave the cauldron all night", Pippa explained.

Mildred breathed deeply looking up at the moon and the millions of stars and then turned to watch the two older witches both lost in their own thoughts. She took in Pippa with her golden hair and pink cloak. Vibrant and full of life, she seemed to emanate warmth and beam light, and just as Pippa radiated light, her friend seemed to reflect it. Hecate, in her back cloak with its high collar was so different with her pale face framed in her loose black hair. Her skin was luminous in the moonlight and the flickering fire. They were as dissimilar as night and day, though they complemented each other beautifully.

"Are you okay, Hecate", Mildred asked noticing her shining eyes and realised her aunt was close to tears.

"Yes Mildred, I am all right"

The girl went to sit beside her aunt and rested her head in her lap. Mildred could hear Hecate's gentle sobs as her fingers played through her loose hair. "I love you Mildred. No one will take you from me again".

"I know Aunty, I love you too".

When Mildred had gone to bed, Hecate was clearing up in the kitchen when Pippa placed a hand on Hecate's arm, "You're so lovely with your hair down, you know?" Hecate gave a surprised look that conveyed she did not know, which turned into a shy smile.

"Thank you. I thought you were a bit quiet at dinner, Pippa. Is everything all right?"

"I should tell you that Mildred found your photo album from Paris". Hecate stopped what she was doing, panic written on her face.

"What did she say?"

"Not a lot, she asked what her mother was like."

"Anything else?"

"No. Do you want to know how I answered?"

The other witch nodded.

"I said I'd been jealous of her"

Hecate nodded as if her suspicion had been confirmed.

"Do you remember the last time I was here?"

"Of course, and I loved having you here, and you were so good with Aurora…Mildred.........and I remember how you just left, and I never understood why"

Pippa's face darkened, "I asked you, if anyone else ever made you feel the way Audrey did. You were very honest. You said no".

Hecate looked a little taken aback, what had that got to do with anything?

"What if I asked you the same question now?"

"Um.. still no" said an utterly confused Hecate. 

Pippa turned her face away. "I'm going back. I'm sorry but school starts back on Monday and there's so much to do", she tried to sound breezy but failed utterly miserably as her voice broke into a sob as she ran out of the front door.

Hecate was stunned and had a sense of déjà vu. It was exactly what happened all those years ago. Pippa had put Aurora down to sleep upstairs and she had found the album. Something about it upset her and she began acting strangely and asking questions. Finally, she had grabbed her hat and cloak and flew away. Hecate had been upset for weeks after, and things had never been the same between them until they had finally lost touch altogether. This time she wasn't going to let Pippa leave without an explanation.

She summoned her broomstick and lifted off into the night sky after her friend flying at breakneck speed through the fresh night air to catch up with her.

"Pippa, what is the matter? I've obviously upset you but what have I said that's so wrong? what do you want me to say?"

"I thought after all these years you might feel differently," she sobbed.

"Differently to what? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Me. Us. I thought maybe I could make you feel the way Audrey did."

"Pippa, stop!" The blond witch came to an abrupt mid-air halt. Hecate, relieved to bring her own broom to a stop, continued, "Audrey made me feel like I didn't care if I lived or died. Why would you think you could ever make me feel like that?"

Pippa looked into Hecate's dark, honest eyes, "That isn't what I meant. I meant, have you ever thought you could love someone else like you loved her?"

"Oh". Hecate looked uncomfortable and couldn't look at the other witch. Finally, she said. "When you were here last time, I imagined what it would be like if you stayed and we brought Aurora up together, but I was being ridiculous".

"Why did you think you were being ridiculous?"

"Because you haven't ever felt like that about me. You went out with my brother"

"Hugo! D'you mean the dance we went to when we were fifteen? You think after all these years I'm still carrying a torch for that cockwomble?"

"Yes. Isn't that why you were always jealous of Audrey?"

Daylight suddenly dawning on the other witch, "No Hecate. I was jealous of Audrey because you loved her, and I disliked her because she hurt you. Because I love you. I've always loved you"

Hecate looked utterly dumbstruck and finally asked, "Why did you never tell me?"

"Because I never got the slightest signal from you that you felt anything for me."

People and their bloody signals, she thought. "What signals did you want?"

"I don't know. You've never told me I'm pretty."

Hecate narrowed her eyes trying desperately to understand, "Why in Merlin's name would you need me to tell you you're pretty. You know how a mirror works, don't you?"

"It's nice to be told, so I'd have known you'd noticed"

Hecate looked at the gorgeous woman in front of her with her tearful, sparkling hazel eyes and her blond hair, "You're the most beautiful witch I've ever seen in my life. Obviously, I've noticed, obviously I love you. How could anyone not love you?"

They paused in mid-air and neither spoke. Hecate had that feeling she often had when she suspected she was supposed to do or say something but wasn't quite sure what. Hovering above the treetops, under a clear night sky and a full moon, a thousand stars seemed to be watching her, "we've played our part", they seemed to say, "the night is still and perfect, the rest is up to you".

Hecate took Pippa's hand and leant towards her.

From her bedroom window, Mildred could see two witches hovering mid-air on their brooms in the Spring night sky, one in black and the other in pink. They looked like a painting against a starlight backdrop. The witch all in black leant forward and kissed the pink witch and as she did so, she made a beckoning gesture to the full moon and the girl watched as it became just a little larger and brighter and though she may have imagined it, she felt quite sure that it was now shining just a little…....Pink.


	15. Bubbles and bath bombs

In the days after the pink moon, there were noticeable changes in the dynamics between the three witches. Nothing was said, but Pippa and Hecate were smiling at each other a lot. Mildred thought it was sweet at first, but it began to get just a little nauseating after a while, not to mention she felt slightly patronised that they appeared to believe they were behaving as though nothing had changed. Hecate had begun to wear her hair down for most of the morning until around 11 o'clock when she invariably got annoyed with the long wavy locks and magicked all her raven hair up into a bun, not the severe style she wore at school, but still very neat, revealing her high forehead and long neck. Each evening Hecate would sit at the dining table reading a small brown book and making notes in the margins. After several evenings, Mildred asked, "What are you reading?"

Her aunt showed her the cover.

"Developmental stages of magic in the infant witch or wizard by Professor Maximilian Thibault" Mildred read aloud.

"I've had this book a long time. It was one of my university course books and Professor Thibault was my teacher" she emphasised the correct pronunciation of the name to correct Mildred. "I studied this topic during my year in France and it was in that class that I met your mother".

Mildred took in this information. "Do you think that book will help me with my magic?"

"It's all I had to go on last time, and it seemed to work in the end, you are a witch, and I was thinking, now that you are back to full strength, we ought to commence lessons". She saw Mildred's face drop.

"I'm sorry, I know I said we'd wait till we were back at school and we'd go through the Test of Magical Ability, but I worry there will not be enough time. There has been no word from the Grand Mage regarding a date for the test, but we should be prepared in case we are not given much notice".

First thing after breakfast the next morning, Hecate cleared away the plates and said, "we shall start right away".

"What, right now?"

Making no answer, Hecate transferred them both outside onto the patio, and Mildred found herself sat cross-legged in front of her aunt.

"There is some magic that cannot be performed with potions and spells", Hecate began, "some magic you just have to feel. It's a little hard to explain because magic feels differently for every witch. To know your magic is one of the most important principles of witchcraft. We inherit our magic from our mothers and so, young witches learn how their own family's magic is meant to feel, and what it is capable of doing at their mothers' knee.

"How are you going to teach me my mum's magic?"

Despite how much thought she had given it, Hecate suddenly felt unsure.

"There are three separate issues."

Firstly, from what little is written about your situation, I believe your magic is unstable because it is built on a foundation that is only partly developed. You did not progress through the usual stages of development and, therefore, I don't believe magic feels as natural to you as it should, which leads you to overthink it, and is the reason you lack precision and control. Magic is an ability built up over time and begins with reflexes we develop as babies. For a witch your age, very simple magic spells involving potions or rhymes should feel as natural as breathing. Remember I told you about the non-verbal spells that infants perform without realising they're doing it?"

"You mean the ones I never quite managed", giggled Mildred beginning to see a flaw in whatever her aunt was planning to make her do.

"You have magic now" she reminded the girl, "now we have something upon which we can build".

"The second issue is that overthinking and making mistakes has also led to a great deal of anxiety, and I know my behaviour has not helped you in this matter and I am sorry" she said not quite meeting Mildred's eyes. "Nerves and magic do not mix, so we must work on that too". She gave the girl a reassuring smile.

"Thirdly. You are the last of the Allard Witches and, sadly, there is no one to teach you about your unique magical signature. I cannot teach you Allard magic, but I can teach you the principles that underpin all magic and we can work on your confidence which, in turn should help your control and magical strength".

Mildred didn't look at all sure, but Hecate continued, "Now, close your eyes and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Count to five slowly as you breathe in and again to five when you breathe out. Relax your shoulders and your arms and your fingers and even the muscles in your face around your mouth and your eyes". Mildred did as she was told, at first thinking how her aunt's silky gentle voice was perfect for a yoga instructor, but very quickly all thoughts ebbed away as she became completely focused on breathing.

After a few minutes Hecate said gently, "Open your eyes, Mildred".

Hecate moved her hand over the flagstones between them and conjured a cylindrical silver bottle about five inches tall. Under Hecate's gaze, the top of it unscrewed itself and as it lifted itself out Mildred saw that it was attached to a silver stick with a loop at the end. Iridescent bubbles began forming and escaping from the loop and blowing away on the light breeze.

"Bubbles? like when I was a baby?"

"Something I did back then clearly worked. You have magic. We need to work on it even more".

"Close your eyes again, but this time, imagine you're somewhere else entirely".

"Like a beach?"

"If that is where you wish to be."

Mildred closed her eyes and imagined sitting cross-legged on the sand. She was looking out to the sea, watching the waves ebbing and flowing while she breathed in slowly through her nose and out through her barely open mouth, soon her breaths were in step with the tide, when she breathed out, the waves rushed forward towards her and rolled over the sand and stones, and as she breathed in, the water washed back into the endless sea, as though the motion mirrored her own diaphragm. It was as though she were controlling the tide with her own breath and body, she felt somehow as at one with the the sea, and just as powerful.

"Open your eyes, Mildred".

The girl gasped at the bubbles flowing though the loop, which were no longer a mix of iridescence, but were now solid colours which changed with each rotation from pink to blue to green to yellow, just like fairy lights, as they swirled together in a twisting pattern like a miniature, gentle tornado, before they blew away into the distance.

"Did I do that?"

"Yes, and I am so proud of you, my darling".

Mildred was amazed at what she had achieved and now she was desperate to practise more.

"You shouldn't do too much at this stage, you will wear yourself out. Even much older witches have a finite supply of magic, which once depleted, will take hours or even days to build up again. You've done very well and once you've worked on this a little longer, you can move on to reciting spells and using potions so that you may improve your precision in spell casting. My hope is that now you know how your magic ought to feel, you should find that you will be better able to control it. Now let's go back inside, it has suddenly become a little cold.

Mildred nodded and she wrapped her arms around herself. The temperature had indeed dropped.

During the next few days Mildred practised her spells with Hecate and Pippa. And although she had been initially amazed at her achievement, the novelty had soon worn off as Hecate insisted she do nothing more than practise breathing and see what magic happened. She loved the looks that her aunt and Pippa gave her, nevertheless, she wanted to move on from incidental magic that had no purpose whatsoever, and learn how to make her magic do exactly what she wanted.

On the final morning at the cottage, Mildred was watching Hecate pack up, referring to various lists that she had prepared. She noticed how her aunt's demeanour had been different over the last few days, she had been softer somehow, but she only noticed this in retrospect now that Hecate was back in full Miss Hardbroom mode. Her hair was scraped back as severely as ever accentuating her high cheekbones. She was wearing her usual tight-fitting clothes complete with the time-piece necklace that had been absent from around her neck for the duration of the holiday, and she was getting things ready with that methodical business-like manner Mildred was used to seeing her employ at school.

As Pippa, Hecate and Mildred were eating breakfast, two identical envelopes dropped through the letter box, one addressed to Hecate and the other to Mildred. The girl's heart began pounding and she felt light-headed as she opened her letter taking in the French postmark. As expected, it was from the French Magic Council, which was writing to inform her of the date of her trial, Mildred wished they didn't have to call it that, it sounded as though she were a criminal. "10th of May!" she exclaimed. "That's like in three weeks!"

"It is exactly three weeks. Hecate corrected, her mind clearly racing.

"Don't worry, the way you're coming along you won't have any problems", Pippa said breezily, not daring to look at Hecate".

"Well I suppose if the Grand Mage only asks me to make bubbles change colour at random without me even knowing I'm doing it, I guess I'll be fine, Pippa", Mildred cut back rather sharply. Hecate pursed her lips before shouting, "Mildred you will not take that tone with Miss Pentangle, now apologise at once!"

"I'm sorry"

Pippa just gave the girl an understanding smile.

"I suggest", said Hecate, "you have a bath and try to relax, we'll leave for school when you've finished."

Mildred finished running the bath and stood there for a moment just watching the steam rising. She was wound up and longed for the peace that meditation gave her. She began to focus on her breathing watching the steam swirling upwards. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift. The sea stretched out in front of her but this time, instead of watching the tide drifting gently out and back in, in time with her breathing, she began to imagine the wind blowing waves, small at first but getting bigger and bigger rising up and over crashing back into the water with each outbreath.

She opened her eyes and her mouth dropped open to see all of the bath water had formed into a giant wave ready to spill over. It would have splashed everywhere if Mildred hadn't instinctively held out her arms. With magic pulsing through her fingers, she made a circular motion with her right hand and to her amazement the wave curled over itself and formed a huge ball of water that hovered above the bath. She stood motionless just holding the water still. She could feel the toll it was taking on her body, she felt it draining her magic, but it was such a mesmerising sight that she couldn't bear to let it go. It looked like the Earth from Space. She focussed back on to her breathing and inhaled a little more deeply and as she let out a long breath, the sphere rose like a giant balloon, but almost immediately it became too much to hold. She felt as though she were trying to hold back the tide. She lost control. The ball of water fell with a huge splash into the bath with most of it spilling back out again onto the bathroom floor rushing towards her feet, leaking out of the door, and onto the landing. Hecate appeared at the door in a black mist, her expression livid. "What on Earth are you doing, girl?" She thundered, her cold dark eyes burning into Mildred's as she extended her arms and from her hands began to blow air with such a powerful force it dried all of the bath water in an instant.

"I'm sorry", Mildred sobbed, and she ran past Hecate and into her room throwing herself on her bed and wailing.

What had she been thinking? Hecate had told her not to overdo it. She could feel how her magic had depleted, she was exhausted, and she'd been foolish.

Her aunt followed her into the bedroom, "What happened?" she commanded.

I…..I…. left the bath… running for …..too long. It overflowed. I'm sorry.

A little taken aback, but not too surprised at this revelation of utter stupidity from the one and only Mildred Hubble, Hecate pursed her lips then said, "Well, there's no harm done, is there? I've put it right. Just keep an eye on the bath when you run it in future".

Yes, Miss Hardbroom", she said burying her head into her pillow.

"Please stop crying, Mildred"

But the girl couldn't. She was physically and emotionally drained. The older witch sat on the bed beside her placing one hand gently on the girl's back while she cried herself to sleep.

"Is she okay?" Pippa asked with a concerned expression looking up at Hecate who descending the stairs. Pippa was now dressed in her pink flying cloak and hat, bags packed and broomstick waiting at the door, ready for the long ride back to Pentangles.

"I don't know. She's asleep. I shouted at her for leaving the bath water running and flooding the bathroom, but she's never cried like that before, and honestly, Pippa, I've been far more furious with her at school than I was today. She was utterly inconsolable".

"She has a lot to worry about. With all the progress she's made, you and I both know they've been baby steps. She'll need to make huge strides in the next three weeks.

"I know but seeing how much I upset her was….."

"And secondly", she said raising her hand, "Your shouting at her is different now, isn't it? she has a family for the first time in her life. She may be oversensitive if she thinks she's upset you. She needs reassurance that you'll never give up on her and you'll love her no matter what she does."

"You know that's how I feel"

"Yes, but Mildred needs to hear it, and not just once. Keep telling her. Tell her every day".

Hecate knew Pippa was right. She was always right about these things.

"I'll miss you Pippa".

"I'm missing you already. Promise to mirror me every day and tell me everything about how Mildred is doing"

After a long kiss goodbye, Hecate watched Pippa fly away and didn't take her eyes off the pink witch until she was completely out of sight.

…

Mildred awoke about two hours later. She rushed downstairs and began apologising to Hecate that they would now be late back to Cackle's. However, she found Hecate looking the picture of calm, sitting at the table with a cup of tea and reading. "Ah, Mildred. How are you feeling?

"Aren't you mad? I've been asleep for two hours! we should be at school by now!"

"You do not have to be at school till 6pm. I would have liked to have been there early to prepare for tomorrow's classes, but I can do it later. You needed to sleep. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, I'm sorry…."

"You've already apologised, and I have already said there was no harm done. Sit down, please, would you like some tea?"

Mildred shook her head.

"I know you have a lot on your mind. How do you feel about the return to school?"

The girl shrugged, "I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, but I'm also scared to go back"

"I have placed powerful protective spells over the castle. You will notice there will be more rules in place to keep everyone safe".

"But I'm still scared. I'm scared about classes starting again, I know you want me to do better, but I know I'll let you down". Once she started talking, she couldn't seem to stop, "I can't prepare for a trial in three weeks. They'll take my magic and then what? I won't be able to stay at Cackle's. I won't be able to stay with you."

Hecate stood up and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Mildred you have never and will never let me down. I promised you that no one will take you away. We'll take one day at a time. Trust me. How can I prove to you I won't let you down?"

Mildred shrugged again.

"When you first joined the school, Miss Cackle mentioned you needed a witching guardian because we thought you had no family. She sent a letter of application to the Grand Wizard.......She has acted in that capacity before to other pupils. However, before she had any reply from the Magic Council, we realised who you are. The thing is, you now do not need a witching guardian as you have your father. Having said that, your father travels a lot, whereas I am with you all the time, I thought it would make sense if…."

"Yes!" Mildred shouted keenly, "Please will you be my witching guardian?"

Hecate smiled a happy smile.


	16. Back to school

Mildred and Hecate flew the short distance across the forest towards the castle. It was late afternoon when they landed in the school's grounds and almost as soon as they had walked up the few steps and through the great oak doors, Miss Cackle appeared beaming from ear to ear as she looked at Mildred.

"Oh, you look wonderful, we were all so worried, how are you?"

"Fully recovered, thanks, Miss Cackle" as the older witch pulled her into a squeezing hug.

"Well met, Ada", Hecate greeted the headmistress formally.

"Hecate, welcome back" And Miss Cackle gave her a hug too.

Mildred went up to her attic bedroom where she got ready for school. After about an hour, Mildred noticed the other girls arrive on their broomsticks from her window. Ethel was the first to arrive, perfectly confident astride her broom and making a textbook landing in the quadrangle. She seemed so confident in everything she did and Mildred wondered if she'd ever be like her. On seeing Enid swerve deliberately past her window and smiling a cheeky grin, Mildred felt instantly happy, and moments later, Maud also came swooping past giving Mildred a wave. She ran down the twisting staircase to meet them outside their rooms and as soon as her two friends rounded the corner into the corridor they ran towards her straight into a group hug.

They all went into Maud's room and sat on her bed.

"Maud I'm so sorry about what happened"

"Why, Millie? it wasn't your fault"

"I suppose. I'm sorry I couldn't mirror you, Miss Hardbroom said no one was allowed to know where I was".

"You apologise a lot don't you Mil?" said Enid.

"We knew Miss Hardbroom was going to take you somewhere secret where the Allards wouldn't find you," said Maud, "She told my mum while we were in the infirmary. My mum said she never left your bedside for three days and Miss Cackle had to have all her meals sent up, but she hardly ate anything."

Mildred felt a pang of love for her aunt.

"What was it like, you know, with her all the time?", Enid asked.

"It was fine. It was actually really nice. Pippa…..Miss Pentangle was there."

"Oh, so they're friends now?"

"Yeah"

Mildred began telling the two girls about her lessons with Miss Hardbroom and how frustrated she'd become with her insistence on meditation and changing the colour of bubbles and other silly magic.

"I reckon she knows what she's doing, you should trust her" said Maud confidently. "She's not the most famous teacher of Witchcraft in the country for nothing, you know".

"I didn't know she was famous"

"Oh yeah", said Enid, "She's written loads of papers on potions. She's really well respected".

"And because she's so powerful", added Maud. "No one quite knows just how powerful, but she certainly has gifts most other witches don't have. The way she transfers herself about all day long in a castle made of thick stone walls, most witches can't use transference like that. And, you know the way she appears out of nowhere whenever there's a problem, or we're talking about her?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that's not ordinary magic."

The three girls looked around the room suddenly feeling uncomfortable, but no one materialised, and Mildred was sure that, having made her aunt late, she would be busy preparing for lessons so, she began to explain what had happened earlier that day with the bathwater and the two girls looked back at her disbelievingly.

"Mil are you sure you didn't just bang your head on the bath and dream it?" asked Enid with a giggle.

"No, it happened! and Miss Hardbroom was furious"

"So, what did she say about it?"

"I didn't exactly tell her. I said I accidentally let the bath overflow. She was angry enough as it was without saying I was doing magic when she'd told me not to."

"Honestly Millie, I've never heard of anything like you've described. I know that very few witches can work with water. There's a saying, 'witches don't do well with water'. I'm amazed you managed anything.

Mildred thought about that for a moment. Perhaps Maud was right. "My dad's coming tomorrow, I'm trying to imagine what he'll be like?'

"I told my mum that Lord Hardbroom is your dad", said Enid. "She said he's well handsome"

…..

Hecate was seated bolt upright at her desk in her office reading a small ring-bound book, The Test of Magical Ability for ten to fourteen-year-olds. The first section wasn't at all what she'd imagined. It was a set of pictures that were to be shown to the child who would be asked to say what they saw first. There were prompts for the examiner to say out loud on the back of each picture. One said, "In this picture, what do you see first?" If the subject makes no attempt at an answer, prompt them with "can you see a root vegetable or an aquatic mammal?". Hecate examined the black and white picture but could not make out anything. There did not appear to be any marking criteria for this section. Hecate rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed, and moved on.

The next section was more along the lines of what she had expected. "The purpose of this subtest is to provide evidence that the subject can or cannot cast a simple spell using a potion. The subject will be asked to prepare a potion and will be provided with all the ingredients, instructions for mixing and a short incantation. That seemed all right, Mildred would not have to remember anything. Hecate was so far relieved.

There were further sections which would prove a little more challenging for Mildred. She would have to turn a small animal into another creature and back again. Both the spell and the reversal spell would need to be correct to pass the section. The memory of Ethel Hallow as a pig shot through Hecate's mind. That had been the result of Mildred's attempt to turn a mouse into a frog. Well, she would have to work on that.

There was a basic test of spell science. A set of twenty questions that would be taken from the standard curriculum corresponding to the child's school level. The pass mark for this section was fifty percent. That seemed doable. Hecate read on.

The subject will be asked to perform a simple act of magic with or without an incantation as they wish. The object on which the spell will be performed will be chosen taking into account the magical abilities with which their family is associated, thereby, giving the subject the best chance of performing well. For example, In the case of a witch, if the subject's maternal family are Green Witches then, typically, a flower will be placed in front of the child and she will be asked to make it grow or shrink by a specified measurement and for a duration of ten seconds. See below for the marking criteria nb. flower is given as an example.

Affect - Was the subject able to change the flower in any way? (one mark)

Reverberation - Did the flower hold its new form for ten seconds (two marks for 10 seconds, one mark for 5-9 seconds, zero for less that 5 seconds)

Direction – Did the flower change size in the right direction e.g. become larger or smaller as specified? (one mark)

Precision - Did the flower grow or shrink by the specified measurement? (Scores for precision will be given out five)

Scoring – In order to pass this section, affect and correct direction must be achieved. A mark of at least five must be achieved for reverberation and a mark of three or more must be achieved for precision.

"well we have our work cut out with that one", the witch thought to herself.

Hecate breathed deeply before turning the page and reading the final part of the test.

Finally, the subject will be asked to perform any spell of their choosing. A praecantometer will be used to measure the subject's magical strength.

Hecate massaged her forehead with her long slender fingers. She suddenly had a headache.


	17. What's in a name?

Hugo was standing near the battlements scanning the view when Hecate appeared next to him and made him jump.

"gods, Hecate" you scared me.

"You asked me to meet you here"

"Yes. Hecate, It's been a long time", he said avoiding her intense gaze. I think it's time I said I'm sorry, truly sorry for everything".

The truth was that Hecate had forgiven her brother long ago. Yes, he'd stolen her girlfriend, but he'd had no more control over what had happened to Mildred than she'd had. Furthermore, she knew he'd never had a problem with her being his non-magical child's guardian. In fact, when she'd announced all those years ago that she intended to adopt the little girl, everyone else, especially her mother, had told her she couldn't do it because she wasn't up to the task, she didn't have the patience, that she lacked empathy, she was too selfish, and a thousand other put downs to make her feel she was simply incapable of being a parent, Hugo's had been the only voice who had said she could do it and that he had faith in her. Hecate had never forgotten that.

"I know you are Hugo. You don't mind me asking Mildred if she wanted me as her witching guardian, do you?"

"Of course not, I'm hardly ever in the country. But...you were going to adopt her when she was a baby. Don't you want that now?"

"It's nothing to do with what I want. She needs to know if she will inherit the Allard title. I didn't realise all those years ago, but I if I had adopted her she would no longer have been an Allard, which means she would not have been entitled to anything. Even if Mildred wanted me to adopt her now, which I doubt, she would have to relinquish her birthright". Hecate paused for a moment. "I have promised Mildred that no one will take her away from me again. If she cannot pass the test in France, and they take her magic...then I will adopt her. I'll live in the non-magical world with her. If she'll have me".

"It won't come to that"

They stood for a few moments in silence and watched some girls whizzing past on their brooms.

"I watched her over the years"

"Pardon"

"Mildred. Every so often, I checked on her in the non-magical world".

"You knew where she was?" Hecate breathed in disbelief.

"I couldn't tell you, Hecate," he began firmly, "It would have been too much for you. You'd have begged me to tell you where to find her and it would have ended in more pain for you".

Hecate swallowed a lump in her throat. She couldn't argue because she knew he was right.

"She had a few foster homes. On occasions, I chatted to her foster mothers at bus-stops or in queues at shops. I may have used some magic to reveal their true characters. They were all good people. I'd see Mildred with them, I'm sure she felt lonely at times but she never seemed unhappy. She was very cute and...I always thought she looked like you as a kid".

Hecate was surprised by her brother. He had never seemed to take anything particularly seriously. The thought of him waiting at bus stops hoping to bump into his daughter and her foster mother made her feel sad and proud all at once. He had his faults, but there was so much more to him than anyone gave him credit for.

"How did you find her?"

"That night…..I accompanied the Great Wizard to the police station. At the last moment I placed a note inside her blanket with a name. I just hoped they would keep it, and they did".

"Why Mildred Hubble?"

"Just popped into my head really"

Hecate narrowed her eyes.

"Oh if you really must know it was inspired by the names of the two ladies I was romantically involved with at the time. Mildred Periwinkle and Wilma Bubblecharm".

Hecate screwed up her face as if the answer had caused her actual pain. "I truly despair of you, Hugo Hardbroom".

"Would you have preferred Wilma Bubblewinkle? He said with a mischievous grin. Hecate looked at her fool of her brother with an expressionless face.

"Winnie Winklecharm?" he tried.

Hecate's face was unchanged, but with her brother's daft expression, she realised how much she'd missed him. She found herself trying to bite her lip to hide a smile.

"So. You and Pipps, then."

"Me and Pipps, yes", she smiled.

"All makes sense now. She was always following you about like a lost puppy. And she never seemed particularly interested in me, so I should have realised".

"Wow. You really are a cockwomble."

Excuse me, Hecate Hardbroom, surely that should be Lord Cockwomble".

She couldn't stop herself breaking into a little giggle. She gave him a playful slap on his arm and for a moment it was like they were kids again and neither of them had ever heard of Audrey Allard.

…

Lights out now, you three. "Yes Miss Hardbroom", Maud and Enid chorused as they left Mildred's room. Hecate walked over to Mildred and helped her unplait her hair, taking hold of the brush and she began unknotting sections a little too vigorously. Mildred tried not to yelp as the brush scraped her scalp. Miss Hardbroom was trying so hard with her and she knew her teacher still felt guilty for how she'd treated her prior to knowing who she was. She just didn't have the heart to tell her she was in agony and would really rather brush her own hair.

"So, it was a big day for you today, Mildred. What did you think of your father?"

"He seems nice. He made me laugh. He told me I have a half-brother, Hadrian and said I'd meet him in the summer holidays, I'd love that, I've always wanted a brother or a sister". Hecate smiled at the happiness in her eyes.

"Miss Hardbroom, why do so many people in Magical families have first names that begin with the same letter? Like you and Hugo and Hadrian, or Ethel and Esmerelda and Maud's mum is called Mavis. But it doesn't always happen because Ethel said her little sister is Sybil".

"Like so many things with us, it is tradition and a little complicated. It usually happens when a mother is Head Witch of the family or is next in line. For example, your grandmother was Head of the Allard witches and named Augustine, so she named her daughter Audrey. And Audrey named you Aurora. I don't know for sure, but Maud's mother is probably the Head Witch of the Spellbodys. That is also likely to be the reason Maud has her mother's surname and not her father's.

"You have the same surname as Hugo, so is that your Dad's name or your Mum's?

"My father was Lord Hardbroom. He was Head Wizard of our family and when he died, the title and fortune passed to Hugo".

"Okay, but why don't you have your mum's surname like Maud?

"My mother was Regina Howard. But she was not Head Witch because her mother had been a second daughter. I believe the title is now held by a cousin of mine, Estella. As my mother wouldn't inherit and my Father was a Lord, she took his name at their wedding and became Lady Hardbroom. I was given my father's surname because I was so far down the Howard line of succession."

"Oh I get it. I supposed it's like Sybil Hallow. She's the third Hallow sister so she won't ever be Head Witch."

"Exactly, Mildred".

"But I'm not Mildred am I? I am Aurora". She tried sounding it out. She liked the name a lot, it was lovely, but being from the non-magical world, Aurora to her was a blonde Disney Princess. "It just doesn't suit me."

Hecate studied Mildred in the mirror where she could see her next to her own reflection. Hugo was right, she did have a look of her, "You are whoever you say you are. If you want to change your name back to Aurora or something completely different it is up to you. Witches believe names are powerful. You will become your name".

She put the brush down and the girl gave a sigh of relief.

"Why am I Mildred Hubble?"

Hecate did not think Mildred needed to know that she was named after the witches her father had been two-timing when she was a toddler, but she felt she had to fill the silence with something.

"Would you have rather been Winnie Winklecharm?" She giggled.

"Pardon?"

"Winnie Winklecharm", she wheezed.

Mildred turned around to find Hecate was now on the floor and seemingly unable to breathe.

"Are you alright?" She panicked, "are you under a spell or something? Are you laughing or crying? I can't tell!"

Hecate tried to regain her composure and looked up at the girl's serious face with a beautiful, beaming smile, "I'm happy, Mildred, for the first time in a very long time". She kissed the girl on her forehead. "Now bed. I will see you at breakfast". As she moved her hand in front of her and as she began to vanish, she said, "As it happens, I believe Mildred suits you very well".


	18. The Rose

Hecate knocked on Mildred's bedroom door and waited. After a thud, a yelp and a meow which Hecate assumed was the sound of the girl falling out of bed and landing on her cat, a messy looking Mildred opened the door, looking shocked to see her teacher.

"Good Morning Mildred", she said as she strode in.

"Good Morning Miss Hardbroom. I'm sorry I overslept. I won't do it again. I…"

"Do be quiet, Mildred, you have not overslept, it is 4:45am".

"Oh" said Mildred looking confused. Through sleepy eyes, she took in her aunt's perfectly pressed black dress and neatly scraped bun with not a single hair out of place and wondered how early the woman woke up each morning. She realised that when they'd been at the cottage, she'd never made it downstairs earlier than her aunt. She wondered whether, she ever slept at all.

"Mildred, I have read through the Test of Magical Ability and, while there are some parts of it that I am not overly concerned about, there are other sections that I feel we need to start work on as soon as possible".

"It's just that I'm still asleep", yawned the girl.

"Nonsense, Mildred. Get washed and dressed as quickly as you can and go directly to my office. I'll make you something for breakfast then we'll get started", she commanded, and vanished in a black mist. Mildred flopped back onto her bed and closed her eyes, slipping back into unconsciousness, when her aunt's disembodied voice reverberated around the attic room, "Do not go back to sleep!" Mildred shot up at once and began to get herself ready in a daze.

"You took your time", Miss Hardbroom said as Mildred walked into her office 15 minutes after she'd woken the girl up. "It's better we have our lessons before school rather than after, so you are feeling more awake".

"Yes. Miss Hardbroom", came the automatic reply despite having rarely felt less awake than she did at that moment.

After a satisfying breakfast of porridge with jam and some fruit, Mildred felt better.

"Will we be meeting here at five every morning until the test?" Mildred knew what the answer would likely be, but she was clinging to the faintest possible hope that she would have any sort of lie in during the next three weeks.

"Yes, including the weekends, unless you wish to start earlier"

"No, no five o'clock is grand!" She gave her aunt a slightly crazed smiled.

Without any warning, Hecate transferred both of them to the potions laboratory.

"Now", she began as though they had not just transported halfway across the castle, "For today, and until you achieve a satisfactory command of the spell, you will practise changing this mouse…" she looked towards the tiny white rodent in a cage behind her as it disappeared and reappeared half a second later on the table in front of them, "into a frog".

"Last time I…."

"Yes, I remember, however, unlike Ethel Hallow, I am well prepared with protective spells. It is not that I do not trust you, I just thought you would be less worried if you were sure you couldn't turn me into a pig or anything else for that matter."

Mildred seemed to accept this, and Hecate thought how proud Pippa would be of her and her newly found tact.

Mildred cleared her throat and began.

"Rodent cast away your soft white coat

I command you learn to jump and croak

No teeth so sharp nor tail so long

Instead, webbed feet and sticky tongue

As day is long, you'll jump and catch

And feast on flies and swim and splash

On lily pads, in pond and bog

No more a mouse, but now a frog!"

At first nothing happened. Then the mouse's fur began to turn green and the little thing began jumping around on the table making a sort of squeaky ribbit sound. Hecate was silent, her face was a mixture of intrigue and bewilderment, after a moment she regained the power of speech.

"Well, Mildred, you have succeeded in making the mouse believe he is a frog…I suppose that's a start."

"You don't have to be kind, it's useless"

"I don't know, this mouse could now have a glittering career on the stage playing all manner of amphibians"

"Toad of Toad Hall?"

The two witches laughed. With a wave of her long fingers, Hecate returned the rodent to its right mind and colour. "Shall we try again?"

The results of the next few attempts were mixed. Mildred gave the mouse a long sticky tongue, webbed feet and on one occasion, even frogs' legs but never a complete animal transformation. Soon enough the rising bell rang. 7 am already.

Well done, Mildred, you are improving. We'll do the same tomorrow.

........................................

Her aunt's kind words had made Mildred feel proud and desperate to perfect the spell, and so, at 04:45 the next morning, Mildred bounced out of bed, got dressed and ran through the silent corridors to Hecate's office.

"I'm impressed" said Hecate as she let Mildred in.

After breakfast they transferred to the potions laboratory. With a wave of her hand, Hecate unlocked the cage and guided the little mouse through the air and landed it gently on to her desk.

"Frog" she commanded, rolling the 'r' sound.

After several attempts, each one resulting in a little more success, Mildred finally achieved a full frog transformation. The look on the girl's face was priceless as she flung her arms around her aunt.

"Well, done", Hecate smiled as she looked at her timepiece, "And it is only a quarter to six".

"May I go now, Miss Hardbroom?"

"Certainly not, you have managed one satisfactory transformation spell, you will need to practise this every day until the test, and there are other things we need to prepare you for that we haven't started on yet".

Mildred looked deflated but she gave her aunt a resigned nod.

"Now, you may or may not know that witches' magic is often categorised into magical types."

Mildred gave a look indicating that this, like so many other things, was new information for her.

"It doesn't matter very much anymore. Nowadays, witches attend academies like this one, where witches from all different traditions come and learn together, resulting in a witching population with eclectic magic, that is, they have learned to embrace and use all types of magic. However, many years ago, witches learned only from their mothers and grandmothers. They could only use the magic their families were experts in, for example, the magic relating to herbs or animals or hearth magic that relates to cooking and the home. There is an accepted theory that novice witches find the spells that their ancestors have used for generations far easier than other types of witchcraft. I see this phenomenon in my students all the time, but when they leave after their fifth year, they are all capable of using different magic with more or less equal results".

She began to pace around the desk, her hands in front of her with her fingertips pressed together. "Your family, the Allards, are associated with different types of magic that cross category boundaries. However, they are first and foremost, Green Witches, that used to draw their power from trees and vegetation. Their magic was originally best suited to tend to flora. During the test, you will be asked to demonstrate magic that ought to come easily to you. You will be asked to grow or shrink a flower by a specified measurement. It is not a difficult spell for a witch of your age, any one of your classmates should be able to achieve at least some change in the flower's size, but because you are an Allard, it should be even easier for you.

Hecate conjured a pot plant with yellow flowers on the desk in front of Mildred.

"Please make this plant grow three inches" she commanded firmly. "You should be able to perform this spell without an incantation, however, you may try a verbal spell first". She placed a spell-book in front of the girl already open at the correct page.

Mildred took a deep breath, cast the spell and moved her fingers over the plant.

Nothing happened.

"I'm sorry, I…"

Hecate held up her hand. "That's odd", she had expected the result to be imprecise in measurement and she had doubted the girl's magic would be strong enough for the enchantment to sustain itself for a required period of time, and she had truly worried about how long it would take Mildred to iron out these issues, but she had not expected no affect.

"Like this, Mildred" She said kindly as she moved her long pale hand, palm upwards, over the plant, which immediately grew by what Mildred had no doubt was exactly three inches."

The girl tried again and again, but still nothing happened. Mildred was getting tired.

"Have you been practising your meditation?" The girl nodded truthfully, "and the exercises with the bubbles", Mildred nodded slightly less truthfully.

"Sit outside in the corridor for a few moments where it is cooler. Meditate, and come back and try again". The girl gratefully did as she was told.

After about ten minutes Mildred returned much more relaxed, she breathed deeply and could feel her magic tingling through her body, she felt powerful as she recited the incantation feeling sure that this time, she would get it right. She waited. After a moment, the plant exploded sending soil and yellow petals everywhere.

Exhausted she begged, "please may I stop for today?"

"No, you may not! The older witch shouted back, "This is not a difficult spell for anyone, and you are an Allard witch, you should find this easier than I do. Are you even trying?"

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom, but I can't do it. And now I'm too tired. This is the second day I've woken up before 5 o'clock in the morning", her voice broke into tears, but she continued. "It's not fair, magic just comes easily to you, you're the one who doesn't try…because you don't have to". Just then the rising bell echoed through the academy.

"Go now, Mildred. Report to me after school" the woman said coldly.

The girl ran out as fast as she could.

"The foolish girl", Hecate said to herself as she cut the herbs and prepared the cauldrons for year 4, thinking about what Mildred had said. You don't have to try. Magic comes easily to you. It was true. Even new and difficult spells of her own creating were easy for her, but it hadn't always been that way. There had been a time when she thought her magic wasn't good enough. She chopped the herbs and plants with less of her usual precision and concentration and as the little knife sliced through the pond weed, it caught her finger. She watched as crimson blood appeared on her fingertip, she pushed down either side of the cut with her two thumbs and watched as more blood oozed out. A voice from long ago came to her.

"What will people think when they discover that my daughter, who possesses the same magic as I do, the magic that ran through the veins of three English queens, is such a poor and weak excuse for a witch? You are not trying….. you foolish girl!" The woman was kneeling down on the grass next to a rosebush. She wore a tight-fitting crimson blouse, a long, black, A line skirt and a tall, back pointed hat. Her pale face with its strong, striking features was merely inches away from the even paler face of a little girl who was standing in front of her.

"I am trying mother, I am!" said the seven-year-old with black wavy hair, only the ends of it visible from under her dark grey felt hat trimmed with a little frill around the brim and tied under her chin with a black ribbon, the hat's point was folded to one side and from it, a little half-moon charm hung. Her grey tights were wrinkled just above the top of her black laced boots because her too-thin legs didn't fill them out. She wore a cotton dress in a paler shade of grey. With beautiful brown doe-eyes that were red rimmed because she was so tired, she looked pleadingly at the woman. She had been in her mother's garden for hours on the hot midsummer evening. It was well past her usual bedtime and a strawberry moon was already clearly visible in the still pale sky.

"Can I go to bed now?"

"Bed? Her mother thundered you will not go to bed until you have mastered this simple spell.

Once again, her mother waved her hand, palm upwards over one of the half-dead roses which revived immediately under her spell. She made it look easy. The tall, slim woman brought herself up to her full height, towering above her daughter, so that the girl could see that the underside of the wide brim of her mother's black hat was lined in crimson silk to match her blouse, her lipstick and even the roses.

"If you cannot perform a simple spell like this, you are a disgrace to my noble family, and I shall be ashamed of you". Bring the rose to life. Now!"

The little girl stood as tall as she could, closed her eyes and breathed slowly, letting out long strands of air through her barely open mouth. She could feel magic tingling through her body, from her feet inside her laced boots, to her fingertips as she stretched out her hands, palms facing upwards as her mother had shown her. She summoned all the magic she had left in her small body. The temperature dropped and she felt her loose hair flap behind her. After a moment or two, she felt a couple of large heavy drops of rain fall onto her hat. They were the first drops of rain to have fallen in weeks, and very soon, it was pouring down. She opened her eyes and watched in astonishment as the drooped sad looking flower slowly rose her head, her dry brown petals turned back to their regal crimson as the bloom stood up straight and tall. Exhausted, the child looked at her mother expecting to see some expression of pride, or at least an encouraging smile, but instead the woman's cold, dark, piercing gaze burned into her, a gaze that could almost kill. Hecate had not known then what she had done, or its significance. All she knew was that her mother had refused to teach her any magic from that day onwards, but Regina had never again told her that her magic was weak.


	19. Holding back the tide

I don't own The Worst Witch :)

"You look glum", remarked Enid as she sat down opposite Mildred at the breakfast table. "I'm guessing your lesson with HB didn't go so well today."

"I turned the mouse into a frog" came the monotone reply.

"That's great, Millie", said Maud looking genuinely overjoyed.

"Yeah, but it went south from there". Mildred explained how she had not been able to perform the Green Magic her family was known for.

"To be honest Millie, I'm not great with plants and flowers either, there's no Green Magic in my family, but mum says I've just got to keep practising and I'll get better like she did".

"Have you ever caused a plant to explode?"

"Erm...No" came the embarrassed reply.

Mildred was silent a moment scooping up runny porridge with her spoon before letting it splash back into the bowl,

"During the holidays Miss Hardbroom said that magic feels differently to every witch. How does your magic feel?"

Maud's eyes lit up as she explained it felt like the comforting, fuzzy feeling she got when she'd eaten something really yummy and sugary, like a warm chocolate cake. Enid described the exhilarating feeling of running as fast as she could with the wind in her face and her pulse racing.

"What's it like for you?" Enid asked.

Mildred thought for a few seconds, it wasn't anything like having just eaten chocolate cake or running fast. It was more like... "Calm", she said at last, "but sometimes frightening, like….." she thought of the giant wave in the bath "…like holding back the tide."

Maud and Enid sniggered at that.

"Why is that funny? What have I said?"

"Oh I'm sorry Millie", Maud said trying to compose herself, "it's just you make yourself sound extremely powerful".

…...

"She hates me"

"No she doesn't, now sit down, you're making me nervous" Ada instructed as she bit into a rich tea biscuit.

Hecate sat in the comfortable armchair opposite Ada. The office was cosy and warm, a bit like Ada herself in her deep pink knitted jumper and the natural warmth she gave out to everyone. Once Hecate had settled herself down, she felt better just being in the other witch's company.

"So, she couldn't make the plant grow?"

Hecate shook her head.

"And when she composed herself after a period of meditation, the plant exploded?"

"That's correct"

"And her mother definitely had a gift for that magic?"

The younger witch nodded.

"I must say, it's strange, but we know her magic is underdeveloped and fragile. Even Green Magic may just be too difficult, and it was only her first lesson".

"How can I teach her Audrey's magic when I don't know how it is supposed to feel?"

"Have you tried asking Mildred?"

"No"

"Then I think you should. She's had some successes with the frog transformation and the bubbles you told me about. She must have some idea by now. It may be a good learning exercise for her to verbalise how it feels."

"Yes. Thank you, Ada. I will"

"Is that all?"

"No, Headmistress, there is something else". Hecate looked as though she didn't know how to begin. At last she said, "we should think about what will happen if Mildred cannot pass the test and she is sent away".

"Oh it won't…."

"Please Ada", she cut in. "It may indeed come to that and if it does there should be no disruption to the academy".

"I don't follow"

"If Mildred must live in the non-magical world, then I go too"

It was not exactly a surprise for Ada to hear this, but she had chosen to simply ignore this probable outcome. She knew Hecate would not lose Mildred again, but the thought of the school without the deputy she had come to depend on was impossible to contemplate and it wasn't just that. Ada had always been there when Hecate needed her, how would she fair in a strange world without her? She could could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"You know you can't live in the non-magical world and keep your magic?"

"Of course I know, Ada. I know it won't be easy, but I'll have Mildred to help me. I'll be fine." Hecate got up from her armchair and knelt next to the headmistress. "I know you'll worry about me, but I will be all right".

Ada put her arms around the younger witch's shoulders. She couldn't stop herself, the older woman cried a flood of tears.

…..

It had been a long day for Mildred, but when the end of school bell rang, she knew it wasn't over yet. She walked slowly to the potions laboratory, her heart hammering. She'd lost her temper because she'd been tired, and she'd spoken to her aunt badly. She hadn't deserved it. All she was trying to do was help her keep her magic.

As she approached the laboratory door, Miss Hardbroom appeared outside of it dressed in her black cloak and pointed hat. "Mildred", she said with a smile, "I thought we could take a walk in the grounds."

"Okay", said Mildred relieved, she had expected lines at the very least for her poor behaviour.

With a click of Hecate's fingers, Mildred found herself dressed in her own black school cloak and hat.

Once outside in the fresh air Hecate spoke first, "I'm sorry about this morning"

"For what?"

"I lost my temper"

"I thought I lost mine. I was rude to you. I'm sorry"

"I understand how it feels when certain magic doesn't come easily"

"You?" said Mildred, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"There is no Green Magic in my family, it used to feel very unnatural, but I've had years of practise and now I can do it easily. it was only your first lesson, you will get there".

"I was trying this morning, honestly"

"I know you were. Mildred, may I ask you, what does your magic feel like?"

The girl didn't want to tell her. Maud and Enid had made her feel silly and she didn't want Hecate to think the same. "I don't know how it feels, I'm sorry"

"Don't worry, Mildred", she said wrapping her in her arms with her thick cloak shielding the girl from the cold late April breeze. "We'll have a break from lessons tomorrow morning. You should have an early night tonight".


	20. The Lady Anne

Mildred had spent more time in the library in the past week than she'd spent there in the two and a bit terms she'd been at Cackle's. She so wanted to do better. She longed for more witching knowledge like someone possessed. Jacqueline Allard was not going to beat her. She was sitting with Maud and Enid with piles of books on the table and working on an essay about the persecution of witches in England in the seventeenth century.

"So, when they were ducked under water, why couldn't they just transfer away?"

Ethel walked past just in time to hear Mildred's question and snorted, "What an idiot! No one can transfer through water. I thought everyone knew that".

Maud rolled her eyes at the blond girl as she walked away with her ponytail swishing behind her.

"There's no reason why you would have known that, Millie, but it's true. Only the most powerful witches can use transference spells in the first place, they're difficult to achieve and they use a ton of magic. It's also just a fact that no one can transfer through water. Witches don't do well with water."

Together they made a good start on researching for their essays and after a while Enid and Maud wanted to finish for the evening.

"We'll do a bit more tomorrow", said Enid yawning and stretching her arms over her head.

"Okay, but I'm going to stay a bit longer"

"Erm...didn't you promise HB you'd go to bed early every night until the test?" said Maud.

"I won't stay long. Goodnight!"

As well as her essay for History of Witchcraft, she'd been studying for the end of year exams, practising her animal transformation spell and the Green Magic, but on top of that she was trying to understand the intricacies of magical family hierarchy. If she was going to have to fight to keep her inheritance, she'd need to have a proper grasp of what it means to be Head Witch Allard. She scanned the titles in the magical history section. There was nothing about French magical history so there would be nothing about the Allards. Her eyes fell on the huge tome that she'd heaved down when she'd first come to Cackle's hoping to find some mention of the Hubble family. If she'd read it in any detail, she may have gleaned something about how magical families worked. She climbed just one rung on the ladder to reach The History of Magical Families in Britain and almost fell off when she pulled the heavy book off the shelf. She dropped it onto the nearest table with a sigh of relief and dropped herself into a chair. She opened the book at no particular place, but magical books have memories and it recognised Mildred when she touched it. It opened at the H's where she had previously been searching. Most names just appeared in an endless list, whereas others, such as the Hallows, had pages dedicated to their history. She skimmed these chapters of various important families. Some were interesting because Mildred soon learned that witches and wizards used to live among non-magical people often marrying into wealthy non-magical families. Families like the Hailstone's, Mildred learned, had been extremely wealthy and powerful but over time, they had lost their fortune but remained highly respected families. Mildred smiled as she remembered Sapphire Hailstone, the sweet natured Pentangle's girl from the spelling bee. Mildred was learning a lot as she read through these histories. Apparently, different witching families were known for varying degrees of 'Power' which sometimes related to their wealth or political clout but could also mean superior strength of magic, that said, the one usually implied the other. She also learned that some families seem to have particular magical abilities or "gifts" that other witches rarely have. This could be anything from mind-reading, fortune telling or even a particular gift for controlling the weather, but not like a weather spell - any witch could do that, even Mildred. A weather spell such as a magical storm, was just an illusion and would never affect the non-magical world. However, 'Weather Witches' as they were known could truly alter the weather to the extent that invading foreign fleets could land on English shores or else be whipped up in a tempest and sink. Now Mildred began to understand why powerful mages climbed the ranks of the English courts and became so wealthy. "So much for the Witches' Code Section Twelve which says you must never use your power for personal gain", Mildred whispered under her breath and smiled as she thought how Hecate would be proud of her for knowing that. She read on learning a little more about what her aunt had told her during their last lesson, that witching families were broadly placed into categories according to what type of magic they were associated with. For example; Green Witches who drew their magic from nature; Divination Witches who had gifts in seeing the future or, Weather Witches who were associated with lunar magic and sea storms, to name but a few. However, it didn't always follow that because a family belonged to a certain category of witchcraft, a witch would have a particular gift. "Perhaps that's why I couldn't make the plant grow", she thought. There were certain types of extremely powerful magic that were notoriously rare because daughters often did not inherit it, although Green Magic did not appear to be among these. Weather Magic, however, was so rare it was thought to have long since died out. The Hailstones had been Weather Witches many years ago but now that particular gift was thought to be extinct, there had not been a single Weather Witch on record anywhere in the witching world for generations.

Many family histories ended tragically in the seventeenth century when spates of witch-trials and executions swept through Scotland and England sometimes wiping out entire families. It was then that the magical and non-magical worlds separated forever. For their own safety, most witches and wizards went into hiding, placing powerful protection and invisibility spells on themselves and their homes.

She flicked through endless names and was getting a little tired, and as Mildred looked around, she saw that the library was now deserted, and she wondered if she'd been so engrossed in the book that she hadn't heard the curfew bell. But just as she was about to close the book and go to bed, she came across another, clearly important family who had a whole chapter dedicated to them. Intrigued, Mildred began to read about the Howards. A recent memory flicked into her mind. My mother was Regina Howard. As she was not going to inherit her family's title, she took my father's name at their wedding and became Lady Hardbroom.

The Howards were another witching family who had lost much of their fortune over time. It seemed they were a particularly rotten lot who used their magic for dubious purposes resulting in considerable personal gain. Howard magic was truly terrific, as many of them were documented to have possessed weather- changing ability, not to mention, some of them had sensory powers and could hear or sense things from far away. She thought of how her aunt materialised in her black mist whenever there was an issue in any class. She was sure Hecate had this sensory magic. She read on.

In around 1450, the family almost tore itself apart when the young Lady Elizabeth Howard, having only recently inherited her mother's grimoire, ran away and married a non-magical merchant who, although wealthy, was not aristocratic like the noble Howards. Elizabeth relinquished the grimoire in favour of her younger sister so she could marry and take the name of the man she loved. "How romantic!" Mildred thought. She liked this woman, she thought as she made a note that a Head Witch cannot marry a non-magical man. She read on, learning that Elizabeth and Thomas Bullen had had children and their daughter, Lady Anne, was a suspected witch throughout her three-years long …... Mildred turned the page…...reign.

"Reign?" She said out loud. She reread the paragraph and her eyes widened.

Mildred got up from her seat and walked to the end of the history aisle where she remembered there hung a portrait that she knew well. A poster version of it had been blue-tacked on the wall of her non-magical primary school classroom.

She walked towards the portrait of a woman, sealed behind glass in a large brass frame. It was an eerie sight in the lonely and poorly lit library when almost everybody would be in the castle turrets getting ready for bed. The subject's face stared back at her with eyes that were cold and black, her mouth in a tight, confident smile. Her black hair taken back into a headdress revealing a high forehead and a long neck. Her black gown was cut in a deep square contrasting against her white skin. The pearl necklace she wore proudly displaying her father's initial was so much a part of her. This woman was so sure of herself; this was a woman who knew exactly who she was. Mildred read the Latin words above the woman's head.

'ANNA BOLINA VTOR HENRI OCTA' Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. Just then a spark reflected off the glass. The tall black silhouette of Miss Hardbroom had materialised somewhere behind her. Mildred stared into the newly appeared reflection. Almost five hundred years and those dark Howard Witches' eyes are still icily burning into souls and unnerving fools. Her Aunt raised her hand and transferred Mildred to her room, but not before the girl noticed another face reflected in the glass. For just an instant, she looked into her own dark eyes.


	21. Cherry blossom

Mildred woke up to the sound of her alarm at 4.45 am. She immediately regretted her late-night studying in the library, as she braided her hair into her signature two plaits, she thought of all she had learned the night before and the questions she wanted to ask Hecate.

She walked sleepily down the winding staircase, through her year group's corridor taking in the portraits of witches from long ago and she thought how wonderful the castle was. It was as if she had taken it for granted ever since she had arrived in September and only now, when she feared she would have to leave it, suddenly everything about it was fascinating to her. The labyrinthine layout of the castle which had confused her to the point that Maud had had to draw her a map so she could find her way to lessons, was now easy for her to navigate. At the end of the first years' corridor was a little downwards staircase leading to the small landing outside Hecate's office. As Mildred walked past the little archer's window which let in some light onto the landing, tiny snowflakes wafted passed the glass, snow? She thought, and she took a moment to watch, not snow, but pale pink cherry blossom floating through the air and coming to land on an already pink carpet of petals on the quadrangle floor. This place is beautiful in all seasons she thought, and then it struck her that it was already three days into May and exactly one week until her trial and then she may never come back here again, she felt a pang of sadness. Miss Hardbroom's sudden appearance at the now open door woke her from her daydream. "Are you going to stand there all day?"

"A little tired, are we?" enquired Hecate sharply as she placed a bowl of porridge in front of Mildred.

"A little, but I was studying."

"Oh, is that what you were doing? It looked to me like you were staring stupidly at a painting. And what were you studying that was so fascinating you couldn't quite make it to bed on time?

"Anne Boleyn…..she was a Howard Witch like you"

Hecate was truly astonished she had found this out. "Do you know who she was?"

"Of course, second wife of Henry VIII. She was beheaded" Mildred added as she dragged one finger across her neck. "I think it's pretty special that you're related to her."

Hecate thought about the painting that had hung at the end of the history aisle in the library since she herself had been a first year and probably many generations before, but not many students paid any particular attention to it. The History of Witchcraft taught at witching academies in Britain covered the witching traditions of many cultures, and British Witching History focused on the magic of the 'old days' up to and including the time of King Arthur, with the exception of the witch trials of the seventeenth century. However, Hecate was sure she had read somewhere, although she could not imagine where, that the teaching of British History at non-magical schools, particularly in England seemed a little obsessed with the Tudor Dynasty of the sixteenth century.

"I am indeed descended from the same magical line as Anne Boleyn. Did you learn about her in school?"

"Yes"

"They didn't tell you she was a witch though, surely?"

"They did actually…well they said people in those days believed she was a witch, but people in the non-magical world don't take that stuff seriously anymore".

"I see. That's interesting. And did you learn about the other Howard Witches?

"Others? No."

"Anne was not the only Howard Witch King Henry married"

Mildred ran though the names of the six wives in her head, "Oh yeah, number five, Catherine Howard. She was beheaded as well. I guess Henry had it in for witches".

"Indeed. And what about Anne's daughter?"

"Really? Elizabeth I was a witch?"

"Of course she was. If you learned about Elizabeth, then I assume they taught you about her defeat of the Spanish Armada."

Mildred nodded.

"If they didn't tell you she was a witch how did your teachers explain the victory?"

Mildred cast her mind back to the History lessons she had enjoyed. It was less than a year ago that she had been sitting in her Year 6 non-magical class listening to her teacher telling stories from Tudor times. The little Tudor houses her class had made, were displayed all around the classroom, each one made out of two square cardboard boxes, the slightly larger one on top of the smaller one, all painted white with brown-painted lolly sticks to suggest the timber frames.

"The English were hugely outnumbered", Mildred could hear her old teacher explaining, "130 huge warships came to attack in the Channel. The English sent burning boats towards the Spanish Galleons which caught fire".

"The English burned the Spanish ships" Mildred said at last 

"All of them?" asked Hecate, raising an eyebrow. She was truly impressed. There wasn't another girl or teacher at Cackle's with whom she could have discussed this, and she was genuinely interested in how these events were explained by non-magical historians.

"No, not all. Just some"

"So, how were the English victorious?"

Mildred thought again and then she remembered her teacher joking, "typical British weather", the woman had chuckled. She must have been a wonderful storyteller because Mildred, sitting at her desk, could almost picture herself at the scene holding onto a ship's mast as the wind howled all around her and the vessel creaked and rocked. She could almost taste the salty seawater on her lips.

"The weather changed!" Exclaimed Mildred.

"Ah" smiled Hecate.

"The wind blew the Spanish North, and they had to sail all the way up the East Coast and around Scotland, then on their way down, they were caught in a tremendous storm and many ships were wrecked off the coast of Ireland".

"And this change in the weather…..tell me? Was it just a co-incidence? Is that what they taught you?"

Mildred's eyes widened as realisation dawned. "Last night I read that some Howard Witches long ago had Weather Magic"

Hecate smiled and transferred them both to the potions laboratory.

….........

Mildred had made good progress with her animal transformations. She could now successfully transform a mouse into a frog every time so, she had moved on to reversing the spell, and although success was not yet consistent, her aunt was pleased with her progress.

Hecate had only focussed on the parts of the test that Mildred would find the most difficult, feeling that she didn't need to overwhelm the girl with too much at once. However, she had now told Mildred everything the test would entail. Like her aunt, Mildred was certain she could mix a potion if she only had to follow instructions, and she knew she could pass a spell science test with fifty percent just by rote learning, whether she really understood the concepts or not. She was almost there with the animal transformations and reversal spells, so it was now a case of working on the Green Magic and one other thing.

"What, exactly is a praecantometer?"

"It is an instrument shrouded in mystery. A small number were made centuries ago, but no one knows who made them or how they work, and we only know the whereabouts of one of them which hangs from the ceiling of the main courtroom in the palace of the French Magic Council Building. Its purpose is to measure magical strength. We cannot practise for this part of the test because we do not have such an instrument. In any case, even if we had one, the test manual makes no mention of how much magic a child your age should possess, and I have not been able to find guidance on this anywhere. We only know that a witch's power increases each year, so the use of the praecantometer seems to me a very unscientific way of assessing whether or not you are fit to practise witchcraft when there are no data to which a measurement can be compared"

"So, I won't know if my magic is strong enough till the test?"

"We cannot determine your magical strength, no", she confirmed, "but I know that you can strengthen your magic every day by doing what I have already told you to do; meditating and practising very simple spells. I also know as you gain in confidence you will increase your precision and control. Finally, I know that by practising the Green Magic that should come more naturally, all other magic will become a little easier. It is just like exercise, the more you practise your most natural magic, the stronger your powers will become more generally. It is not a coincidence that you have improved so much in the last few weeks, Mildred. You know that don't you?"

The girl nodded.

Hecate conjured a small pot plant on the table at which Mildred rolled her eyes and flopped onto the stool beside her. She had not practised this with Hecate since blowing up the last plant.

She took a deep breath, recited the spell and waved her hand over the plant. In a second the green stems became about half an inch taller.

"I did it! I did it!" the girl screamed delightedly, but no sooner were the words out of her mouth, than the plant shrank again to its pre-spelled size. Mildred's face dropped and she looked at Hecate.

"Well done, Mildred." Hecate said gently, "Not only did you cause a change, it grew a little taller. That is tremendous progress in such little time".

"I'll try again" said a determined Mildred.

….

"Right girls" called Miss Drill through her megaphone, "five laps around the castle, quick as you can!"

"Looks like you're not the only one getting a few days off school to go to Paris," shouted Ethel as she zoomed past Mildred on her broomstick.

"Why who else is going?" Mildred shouted, but Ethel had sped off into the distance. Within moments, however, the blond girl had caught up again with Mildred and shouted, "me of course! The Allard's have asked me to give evidence at your trial", she explained proudly "They'll asked me all about the pig incident…..I'm soooo sorry, Mildred Hubble, but I can't lie in court, can I?" The girl sped off around the turrets and out of sight, leaving Mildred hovering on her broomstick.

"Mildred Hubble! this is no time to sleep" Miss Drill's amplified voice echoed.

She summoned all her strength and zoomed off around the castle as fast as could, past Maud, Drusilla, Enid and even catching up with Ethel. Lap after lap she zoomed, faster than she'd ever flown, feeling the breeze in her face. As she overtook the blond girl again, Mildred did not dare to look at her because she knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to control herself or her magic. She hated Ethel Hallow.

"Well done Mildred! Called an excited Miss Drill. That was tremendous flying".

…..

Mildred had calmed down since her flying lesson, she'd even managed a smile when she saw the expression on Ethel's face when she'd beaten her by a county mile.

Enid and Maud asked if she wanted them to come with her, but she needed to be on her own. Wandering around the grounds of the academy, her boots kicking up the fallen cherry blossom as she looked for a place to sit and think. "Meditation and practising the simple spells that come easily to you will strengthen all of your magic", Miss Hardbroom's words echoed through her mind as she sat down cross-legged resting her back against a tree. She rested her hands palms upwards on her knees and breathed deeply.

The familiar feeling of calm washed over her like gentle waves over sand. As she breathed slowly, she felt magic tingle through her body and a cool breeze whip her face. Soon she forgot all about the trial and Ethel Hallow and she was only aware of her breath and her magic and the rustling sound of the trees above her. After a few moments, she began to sense movement and she opened her eyes to see tiny, delicate pink petals floating all around her creating a spiral with her in its centre. She felt her spirits lift and she laughed as she was consumed by the joy of being surrounded by her own magic. She stood up tall and lifted her arms above her head, slowly breathing out and sending the petals in an upwards trail and with a twist of her wrists she created patterns in mid-air. Swooping one arm down and back up in an elegant movement, and with another out-breath, she caused a thousand more petals to fly upwards like sea-spray into the air. There she let them stay hovering in a giant pink cloud above her, and for a few moments she just stared upwards at them and then, with her eyes closed and breathing slowly in, she moved all her fingers as though playing scales, commanding the petals float down in swirls like confetti. She felt the petals fall onto her upturned face, on her eyelashes and cheeks and in her hair, she spun around and around until she was dizzy. Within this magic, she thought, my magic, I can do anything.

With petals still wafting all around, she looked towards the branches of the nearest blossom tree and focussed the magic still tingling in her fingertips. Immediately the branches began to lengthen, and new buds appeared at the end of them, she looked around her and was amazed to see that all the branches of all the trees were slowly growing just a little longer with buds blossoming before her eyes until the branches of the trees to the left and right of her arched over and touched one another. She smiled a calm contented smile and spread out her arms, "enough", she commanded gently but firmly. The trees obeyed.


	22. The Tunnel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented and liked my story so far. It means a lot to me because I have to be brave whenever I post. This is my first ever story that I have shared online :/ 
> 
> Anyway I really hope you enjoy this one.
> 
> Happy weekend everyone :) xxx

"Headmistress, have you actually taken leave of your senses altogether?"

"It wasn't my idea. These have come from the Grand Wizard himself" Ada defended as she gave the horrified looking black-clad witch an envelope, "I will say I was taken aback at first, but he put forward a very convincing argument and I think His Greatness is right".

"You think Mildred and I, should travel to France under the sea? You do know we are witches?"

"I do understand your concerns, but think about it, Hecate, the Allards will never expect it. We both know they're likely to attack while you are en route to Paris, and no protection spells, not even yours, are strong enough to protect you while you are travelling. I believe this is the best way and I will be travelling with you for moral support".

Hecate knew the older witch had a point, her concern regarding the journey had been building, and so, with a sigh she opened the envelope and took out two tickets. "I am not happy about this, Merlin knows I would be happier travelling by BroomAir or even a ferry, but I do follow the Great Wizard's logic. No witch alive would suspect we'd be taking the…...", she looked down at the tickets to remind herself of the name, "Eurostar" she said in a disapproving tone.

…...

By 11 o'clock the next day Mildred and Hecate had done some satisfactory last-minute practice, eaten breakfast, said goodbye to Maud and Enid who gave Mildred letters to read on the train, and were already standing in the quadrangle. Ada would meet them at the station after a handover to Miss Drill who would be in charge of the academy while both Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom were away. They transferred away and in a second they appeared in St Pancras International Station. Mildred, in her jeans and jumper, was not at all out of place, and Hecate…..well, her clothes were okay, a long black skirt (not her usual tight fitting style) and the black roll neck top she had often worn at the cottage, and her hair was taken up loosely with a few crocodile clips, but Hecate was not a person that could just blend into a crowd of ordinary people. She was a witch no matter what she wore.

Hecate bought Mildred an ordinary-world magazine from the WH Smith and met up with Ada soon before the train was due. Once on board the train, they found their seats and Hecate watched as the other passengers took theirs. There were people of all ages, businesspeople in suits, some children, and some, who, if she had not known better, she could have sworn were witches and wizards. Magical folk no matter how well they dressed to blend in, could pick each-other out in crowds, it takes one to know one, but she was sure she must be mistaken, no witch would travel through a tunnel below the sea, well…...no one besides herself, it seemed.

She knew the Allards were after Mildred and Hecate was uncharacteristically jumpy. She didn't trust non-magical engineering at the best of times, but she had prepared for this journey in her usual Hecate style. She had read all the information about the tunnel's construction that she could find until she had satisfied herself that it was safe. Nevertheless, she would have felt safer on a broomstick.

"I wonder how deep under the water we get." Mildred said dreamily.

"At its lowest point, it is three hundred and eighty feet under sea surface level and two hundred and fifty below the seabed"

Mildred smiled a surprised smile at her Aunt. It had been more of a rhetorical question and she certainly had not expected such a precise answer.

"Hmmm…. Right", she feigned mild interest, "Have you ever been on the Eurostar?"

"What do you think, Mildred?" she replied with a slight edge to her voice.

Mildred noticed how pale Hecate's face had become and remembered something Maud had told her, 'witches don't do well with water'. Is that what was bothering Hecate?

"You don't need to look so worried, honestly, its completely safe and we'll be in Paris in two and half hours". Hecate nodded but wasn't really listening. She was watching the screen in the middle of the aisle which showed an animation of the shuttle's progression through the tunnel and how far beneath the water and the seabed they were. Ada sitting across the aisle and two rows in front had her head tilted upwards, Hecate thought she must be fascinated by the animation as well. She took out a rather boring looking book about potions and began to read.

Soon, a young woman pushed a trolly through the middle aisle and offered drinks and snacks. When she came to Ada, the witch asked for a white coffee, "Not that much milk, girl!" she said exasperatedly, before immediately, calming her tone, "Ah now that's just right, thank you dear".

As the young woman walked away, Ada's gaze turned towards Hecate, as if to check whether she had noticed the exchange. When she saw that the younger witch was engrossed in her book she relaxed and turned back around.

However, Hecate had heard Ada momentarily lose her temper and now she noticed the way her headmistress was sitting just a little too straight backed, and the way she shook her head so her shoulder length hair would fall neatly away from her cardigan. She wasn't Ada.

Hecate's first thought was for her beloved headmistress. What had Agatha done with her? Was she still alive? A wave a nausea washed over her as she realised she had been tricked. Ada had not given her the tickets, Agatha had. How could I have been so stupid? She cursed herself in her mind. She and Mildred were now hundreds of feet deep under seawater and stone, and she knew what was about to happen. She looked up to the screen which provided, information about how many meters below the seabed they currently were. She looked beside her at a peacefully fast asleep Mildred with her magazine open in her lap and an unopened letter from Maud. A million thoughts zoomed through her head. Mildred as a baby, Pippa, and all the time they had wasted.

Fifty meters, right now. She noticed Agatha looking up at the monitor too. Hecate could see that in just a few minutes they would be at the deepest point, three hundred and eighty feet below the sea level. That's when they would attack – it made sense that they would wait until they were at the deepest point so there was no possible way of Hecate using a transference spell to get them both to safety. Everyone knew her magic was tremendous, perhaps they didn't know whether she could transfer through a certain amount of water, perhaps she could, but no witch could get through that depth. A thousand calculations ran through her mind as she recalled the properties of chalk rock which made up the seabed, the concrete that lined the tunnel, how much water was above them, and all of her research on the construction. There wasn't only one tunnel she remembered, there were three - two train tunnels connected by a service tunnel. A plan of sorts was forming in her mind. If she was lucky, she could get them out through the service tunnel. If not…....she became lightheaded at the thought, there was plan B which was dangerous, reckless, forbidden and might kill them both. But she may have no choice.

Mildred, who always seemed so sensitive to Hecate's changes of mood, woke up and squeezed her hand.

"It's okay, Aunty, won't be long now". Mildred's face looking up at Hecate was so full of reassuring kindness that Hecate almost believed her. She thought how endearing the girl was, even when she had first come to Cackle's, Hecate had despaired of her, but had not disliked her. No one could dislike Mildred Hubble.

With all the calmness and strength she could muster, she smiled at her niece and squeezed back. "Don't let go of my hand, Mildred".


	23. Hekate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is reading my story.  
> Enjoy xxxxx

The little animated shuttle made its way across the screen, they were fast approaching the deepest point. Agatha's eyes were fixed on the monitor and as soon as they reached a depth of seventy-five meters, Agatha held up a hand as a signal, and the passengers that Hecate had identified at the start of the journey as looking like witches and wizards jumped out of their seats as they killed the lights. In an instant, Hecate had transferred Mildred out of the shuttle. The girl screamed as she found herself lying flat on her front on the roof of the train. She turned her head with her cheek lying flat against the train's roof towards Hecate who's hand she was still squeezing, now for dear life.

"We were under attack, but we'll be ok", she shouted over the noise of the train and the whooshing of the air as it sped past. "I have our broomsticks, you'll need to get ready to fly when I say so"

"Fly where? How?"

"Trust me, Mildred" she said as she focussed her mind on the service tunnel. "Fly!"

The next thing Mildred knew she was on her broomstick, speeding along another tunnel, although this one was empty, at least they thought so. A moment later witches and wizards appeared on brooms behind them and in front of them sending spells towards them, in an instant reaction Hecate formed a protective charm around her and Mildred, but it wouldn't hold for long. She turned to the terrified girl, "I need to transfer us again!" she shouted.

A second later, Mildred was once again lying face down on top of the train.

"Are we going to die?"

"No Mildred. Do everything I say. It will not be pleasant, but I will get us to safety" the witch said with a confidence she did not feel.

The terrified girl watched as Hecate began to breathe slowly taking long out-breaths. Even with air rushing through the tunnel as the shuttle zipped through, she could feel a change in air pressure, and she felt even colder.

After a few moments that felt like forever, Hecate said, "I'm going to transfer us again, through the seabed, it will feel strange."

With her eyes shut, Mildred felt the now familiar nauseating feeling of the transference spell, but this was different. Usually, the spell was over in a moment, but this was taking too long, she could hardly breathe, and she began to feel vomit raising in her gut.

Hecate concentrated and focussed her magic like never before as she transferred her and Mildred through two hundred and fifty feet of chalk stone, barely able to breathe, she continued as best she could to let out calm out-breaths.

Finally, the transference spell was over. Mildred took a deep breath and opened her eyes, she was surrounded by black water swirling all around her and Hecate, for a moment she couldn't understand how she was able to breathe or why she was completely dry. Then it became clear, they were inside a bubble rising up and up towards the surface. She realised that had been what Hecate was doing from the roof of the shuttle…blowing bubbles. Even in her still terrified and confused state she managed a smile.

"Are you alright?" asked the witch who was now even paler than usual.

"I think so," the girl did not know why she was whispering, "what kind of magic is this?"

"Powerful magic", she replied calmly, "when we get to the surface, you must stay close beside me and do everything I say, there will be others waiting for us above the surface".

The girl nodded and looked up to see they were coming towards some light. When Hecate said, "Fly!" Mildred burst through the surface of the water and zoomed after her aunt faster than she had even flown before. As she looked up, she could see the sun and the sky. She focussed on it and flew faster and faster no matter how her body was begging her to slow down. As Mildred's eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the first flashes of colour she knew were sparks from curses being thrown towards them, Hecate turned to see more assassins behind them. She shot back a few curses and once again formed a protection charm over her and Mildred, then began breathing deeply and blowing slowly out of her mouth. Mildred felt the cold wind blow and fog began to appear all around. On their broomsticks, the assassins were blown around by the unexpected wind and with the fog descending, they were momentarily disorientated and could not see their targets. They flew up and over the fog and set compass spells on their brooms to follow the two witches. One of their number saw the two flying in the distance and set off after them calling to the others who followed her like a flock of crows. Hecate nosedived sharply and Mildred followed her, the fog was already clearing, and she could not sustain it any longer, she had to keep as much of her now vastly depleted magic for what she would have to do next.

Mildred stayed close to her aunt as they neared the surface of the sea. She was afraid to turn around, but she knew the assassins were following them. Suddenly Hecate shouted "Fly, Mildred, as high as you can!" as she turned her own broom round and faced the assassins.

"No, I'm staying with you"

"Go Mildred!"

With tears already welling up in her eyes Mildred followed Hecate's orders as she had promised to do. Hecate turned to face the assassins and began to blow into the water.

Flying quickly away and keeping as much height as possible, with the wind now blowing in her face, her tears blew away before they could fall out of her eyes. Thunder rumbled softly overhead and the sky became darker. She could see the beach far below her, but there was something strange. The tide was being blown out to sea quickly revealing miles of beach before her eyes. It became an ever-bigger wave passing beneath her which her gaze followed the until she saw the back of Hecate, hovering on her broom facing the assassins who had almost caught up with her, but as they came close enough to send curses at her, she raised her hands and the now enormous tidal wave stretched out above her head forming a barrier between her and the assassins.

With all her strength, Hecate held the wave and before the assassins could stop themselves, they smashed into it. As the witch let down the spell, the wind died down, the sky returned to its bright blue and the water came crashing back into the sea, the tide washed back along the miles of newly exposed beach. The water level settled as it was before as Hecate managed to control the tide from spilling further inland that it should. There was no sign of the assassins.

"That was incredible, you're so powerful!"

But there was no reply, Hecate was deathly pale and looked as though she was going to lose her balance on her broomstick. Mildred flew towards her put her arm around her aunt to stabilise her and steered both brooms downwards towards the beach letting out a sigh of relief when they landed on soft yellow sand.

"Are you okay, Hecate?"

But her aunt was in a deep sleep. Mildred knew that she must have used all of her magic to save them.

"Thank you, Aunty", she said as she kissed her forehead and curled up next to her.

Mildred turned her gaze upwards to the calm blue sky and soon she was asleep as well.

...

When she awoke the sky was awash with every colour. Mildred watched the last rays of sun sinking in a majestic red and pink twilight and then her gaze shifted straight up above to where a waxing quarter moon was now visible against the sky's purple cloak. She watched Hecate begin to stir as the moon rose.

"Are you ok?" Mildred whispered.

Her aunt just gave her a tired smile and nodded.

"You're a weather witch"

"Yes" she whispered back.

The sun disappeared completely. Hecate was now standing up to her full height, facing the sea, and gazing up towards the sky, her face luminous in the pale moonlight, her arms outstretched and her raven hair flowing freely and her black skirt blowing in the breeze. Mildred remembered reading how weather witches, drew their power from the moon and it seemed to the girl that with the moon in her first quarter, with only one half illuminated, it was as though she had given the rest of herself to revive her daughter and replenish her magic. Not for the first time, Mildred saw a connection between her aunt and the pale, mysterious satellite and she recalled what she had told her about names being powerful and how we become our names. It was not for nothing that this witch was named for Hekate, Queen of Witches and Goddess of the Moon.


	24. Consequences

When Hecate had regained enough strength to transfer them both to Paris, Mildred found herself on a narrow street looking up at a guesthouse. "We can't go to the hotel as planned", she explained, "It isn't safe, Agatha booked it for us".

Mildred followed Hecate into a warm, comfortable looking reception area. A smart woman around seventy years old with grey hair greeted them and a conversation in French began. Mildred was not at all surprised that Miss Hardbroom spoke French as confidently and seemingly perfectly as she did everything else. The girl was relieved when Hecate translated that there was just one room available. As the woman took Hecate's details, she kept looking towards the witch. Mildred did not find this too surprising either as Hecate was striking especially with her hair down as it was now, but there was a quizzical look in the woman's eyes as if she were trying to remember where she knew her from.

As soon as they entered the cosy room with elegant lilac drapes and matching bedspreads, Hecate made their luggage, which Mildred last saw on the shuttle, appear on their beds. Mildred looked out of the window to the narrow street below as Hecate sat herself down at the old-fashioned dressing table and looked into the mirror above it. "Dimity Drill", she commanded. A tired looking Miss Drill appeared in the mirror and both witches began talking at the same time.

"Ada is in danger!" exclaimed Hecate at the very same time Dimity said,

"Thank the gods you're okay, where's Mildred?" The smiling girl appeared behind Hecate's shoulder and Dimity gave a sigh of relief.

"Ada is fine, Maud Spellbody found her. Agatha had put her under a sleeping spell".

"I must speak to her" Hecate said, but the truth was she didn't really have anything to say, she just wanted to see the woman's face and hear her calming voice.

Dimity smiled as she disappeared from the mirror and was replaced a moment later by an anxious looking Ada.

"Oh Hecate, I feared the worst", her features relaxed, "when I realised I'd been under a spell I knew Agatha had accompanied you. What happened? Are you both alright?"

"We're both fine, Miss Cackle" Mildred said reassuringly.

"We've heard the wildest accounts of what happened. Some people are even saying you travelled on the Eurostar!"

Hecate looked rather uncomfortable, "Ada, there will be plenty of time to explain. We were attacked en route but we escaped"

"Miss Hardbroom is a weather witch!"

Hecate shot her the terrifying wide eyed 'death stare' as Enid called it, and a shiver ran through Mildred's spine.

"A weather which? Mildred you have such an imagination" Ada chuckled, but her airy tone faltered as she looked at Hecate who was not meeting her gaze and Ada realised it was the only thing that made sense. Her magic was awesome, it always had been, and if there was a single witch left in the world who could wield lunar magic and command the sea and the storm that witch would be Hecate Hardbroom.

Before Hecate could say anything, the mirror began to chime, someone else was trying to get through and in the top right-hand corner of the mirror there appeared a tiny picture of a furious looking Great Wizard.

"Ada. His Greatness wishes to speak with me"

The anxious look on Ada's face returned as she nodded sadly and knowingly and then disappeared.

"Weather Magic!" boomed the Great Wizard's voice. "Hecate Hardbroom, you have used your powers recklessly. You realise, of course, you will be charged with using forbidden magic under Section 7 of the Code, and the consequences of being found guilty, which you undoubtably will be, is the removal of all your powers?"

Hecate sitting bolt upright and staring at him with an emotionless face was as unflappable as ever in stark contrast to the purple face of the incandescent wizard.

"You should have presented yourself to the Council when you first displayed signs of weather magic so your powers could have been documented! Why did your mother not present you? She must have known! The Channel is the world's busiest waterway, do you know how dangerous your actions were? Have you any idea how many memories will have to be erased? How much chaos you have created?

Hecate, still staring resolutely at the wizard, said nothing.

"Hecate Hardbroom, if it were my decision to take, I would remove all of your powers right now. However, you were well within French jurisdiction when the offences occurred, but I will be in communication with the Grand Mage tonight to put forward my recommendations", he vanished from the mirror.

"That is so unfair, you saved our lives!" tears were falling down the girl's cheeks.

"Mildred", the older witch said as she wiped the tears away, "I possess magic that is extremely powerful and dangerous. It should have gone on record at the Magic Council. There is some magic that just shouldn't be used."

"Even to save your life? And my life?"

"I do not regret saving us, Mildred. I knew what the consequences would be".

"I don't want my magic if they take yours. I don't want to go back to Cackle's if you won't be there".

"Mildred, I want you to fight to keep your magic tomorrow. Do it for me so that when they take my magic it will have been worth it because I will know that I at least gave you the chance to keep yours. I believe you can pass the test, but I won't be angry if you don't. I just want to know you tried your very best. Promise me you will do that".

When Mildred climbed into bed, she realised how tired she was. The events of the day had at least taken her mind off her trial, but she cried herself to sleep with a bizarre thought which she couldn't get out of her head; the thought of Hecate Hardbroom, probably the most powerful and brilliant witch in the world, who had saved her life, the only living witch who could command weather and the tide, wearing her black dress, her hair scraped into a severe bun, standing in her old foster mother's kitchen, leaning on the worktop, concentration etched on her face as she twisted a dial on a toaster for the very first time unsure whether it would work. It was an absurd thought and it was just so wrong, and despite her knowing she was likely to be forced to relinquish her own magic the following day, leave her friends and the school and the world she had come to love, it was this vision that was the saddest thing Mildred could imagine. She silently cried herself to sleep.

Hecate watched Mildred asleep for a few moments and kissed her on her forehead before sitting herself in front of the dressing table, "Pippa Pentangle" she whispered quietly into the mirror.


	25. Allard versus Allard

Pippa let out a sigh of relief when she saw a somewhat dishevelled but unharmed Hecate appear in her mirror.

"I thought I'd lost you both."

Her eyes were puffy and red. "There are wild rumours…"

"They're all true, Pippa, I'm sorry but I had no choice. I had to get Mildred to safety and there was only one way. You should know that the Great Wizard has told me to expect the worst from the French Magic Council. I expect to be called to the stand at some point during the trial tomorrow to answer charges."

Pippa's eyes filled with tears once again. She could barely comprehend what Hecate was saying. She was already emotionally drained.

"I thought we could finally be together" She said finally.

There was a long silence.

"They'll take my powers, that is certain, but they may not banish me to the non-magical world. It is hard to predict the exact sentence because I don't know of any similar breaches of The Code. I was going to give up my magic anyway if Mildred does not pass her test tomorrow".

"I know but I refuse to believe that will happen. You've been so positive about her lessons lately" Pippa responded desperately.

"There's no doubt she's done well and I'm very proud of her", she looked over to make sure she was sound asleep, "but in a full courtroom, what junior witch could perform under that much pressure?"

"If anyone can, it's Mildred. She's the bravest witch I know, besides you, Hecate. You know, I'm just relieved you're both alive. Nothing else really matters. I love you".

"I love you too, more than I know how to say", her eyes darted to the side as if she were remembering something… "you are very pretty"

Pippa let out a little giggle, "And you are especially gorgeous with your hair down".

The two witches sat in silence for a moment. Hecate's hand touching the cold glass where Pippa's fingers were resting on the other side.

"If she passes her test, whether or not I'm allowed to stay with her, she'll need a witching guardian….I will no longer be a witch…"

"I'd be honoured. You know I would,"

"Thank you, Pippa"

…..

Mildred woke to find Hecate dressed in her usual "Miss Hardbroom" attire; the tight-fitting black garments complete with timepiece and scraped back hair. A thought suddenly crossed Mildred's mind.

"Will I look alright in my jeans and top for the Magic Council?" Hecate looked astonished at the suggestion.

"Certainly not! Pippa has sent you a proper outfit for you to wear today," she said as she levitated a large flat pale blue box with a sliver ribbon in the air and landed it gently on Mildred's bed, followed by a deeper rectangular box with a matching sliver bow.

Excitedly, Mildred began pulling at the bows and the lifting lids and throwing pearly white tissue paper behind her and, finally, she had laid out in front of her, the most perfect outfit she could imagine. She grabbed the clothes and ran into the bathroom to get ready, leaving Hecate a little surprised at what she judged to be an extreme reaction to receiving some clothes.

After the quickest shower Mildred had ever taken, she emerged from the en suite. She was wearing a cream coloured silky top with long sleeves that had two frills along the length of each sleeve, a deep frill along the neckline which came across the width of her shoulders and fell about two inches over them giving the blouse an almost cape-like effect. The blouse was neatly tucked into a pair of pinkish-lilac culottes that finished well above the knee, but they were not too short. The girl smoothed her hands down her hips and enjoyed the feel of the smooth material. Best of all, in Mildred's opinion, were the pale cream soft leather shoe-boots that laced up with pale grey laces. It was when she had stepped into these with their two-inch stacked heels and slight platform, she stared at herself in the full-length bathroom mirror and knew she couldn't arrange her towel-dried hair into her usual two plaits. It would have looked wrong. She was too grown up for that now. And so, the young witch that stood outside the bathroom in her sophisticated new outfit, had her hair combed back and pinned in a sort of high bun on her head with just a few little wavy stands falling around her face. She tucked a strand behind her ear while beaming a shy smile as she asked,

"How do I look?"

Hecate hardly recognised the little girl who had crashed landed into the school pond barely seven months earlier. Before her stood a witch, tall for her age, who was very quickly growing into a teenager.

"You will do" she said firmly and nodded her head, but the way she smiled just a little before turning away from the girl, in case she should look at all emotional, belied her neutral tone.

After a good breakfast, Mildred and Hecate checked out, with the same lady behind the desk that had checked them in the night before. She looked Hecate up and down and was about to ask her where she was going dressed like that, but then seemed to think better of it.

Once outside the guesthouse, Hecate snapped her fingers and their brooms appeared against the wall beside them. Now that the enchanted brooms ensured their invisibility, Hecate snapped her fingers again and her black pointed hat appeared on her head and in her hand, she held out another for Mildred, this one in the same shade of mauve as her culottes. It was a little taller than her school hat and came to a sharper point. It had a wide brim edged all the way around with a thin strip of purple lace. All the way up to its point it was encrusted with swirls of tiny lilac crystals, and wrapped around it, around just above the brim was a length of mauve satin at the front of which was a large lilac moonstone. Hecate gently placed the hat on Mildred's head taking care that the stone was exactly centre.

"There", she said softly, "now you are all set". She looked at her timepiece. It was time to go. Mildred mounted her broomstick and followed Hecate past exquisite old buildings, elegant bridges over the Seine and in the distance, The Eiffel Tower stood proud and Mildred for a moment forgot her nerves and beamed excitedly. Paris was so wonderful!

They landed in a small unassuming street and walked into what looked like a derelict building. At least on the outside. Once inside they found themselves in a vast gothic hall, dimly lit with candles where men and women in brightly coloured robes walked with authority and purpose across the hall and up and down the great staircase in its centre. Hecate and Mildred were shown into a large waiting area where elegant witches and wizards were greeting each other with air kisses on either side on their faces. Mildred did not need to be told these men and women, dressed in the most beautiful clothes Mildred had ever seen, were her Allard relations. Their chattering died down when Hecate and Mildred walked in. They were vaguely curious to get their first look at Audrey's daughter, but it was Hecate who made them all stop mid-sentence and look around at her. Mildred noted that Miss Hardbroom's natural ability to silence a room extended much further than the potions lab. Conversation in the room resumed but this time in hushed tones as the Allards eyed Hecate while she and Mildred took their seats.

"What are they saying about you?"

"I imagine the news of yesterday's events in Calais have reached Paris".

"They look terrified of you"

"I am used to it, Mildred" she replied with just a hint of self-satisfaction as she looked straight ahead.

Two witches that Mildred knew well entered the seating area. Mrs Hallow strode in wearing a business suit, handbag in hand, while behind her, Ethel, struggled to keep up with her mother's long strides. She sneered at Mildred as she put her hand to her forehead and mouthed the words "Well met, Mother Hubble", before she and her mother began greeting the Allards, all of whom they seemed to know. At the sight of Ethel, Mildred whose stomach was already turning over, felt the familiar panic and sense of uselessness and embarrassment she always felt in class.

"Ignore her" Hecate counselled despite having not looked anywhere but straight ahead. Mildred could not imagine how she knew the Hallows had arrived.

"How are you so calm?"

There is no point in wasting the effort required in worrying. I know you will try your best, because that is what you promised. So why should I not be calm?"

"Because you're human…at least…..I think…"

Mildred stopped as her gaze moved somewhere over Hecate's shoulder. A woman, about the same age as Hecate, and just as tall, was gliding into the vestibule like a runway model. The girl took in her bleach blond, bouffant hair with a small back feathered hat which looked like she had a dead bird perched on the side of her head. She was wearing a tight-fitting black trouser suit with broad bright green vertical stripes. The jacket, though short at the front, gradually became longer so it was almost floor-length as it billowed behind her. It had bright green lapels upon which a number of large gold brooches were pinned. The neckline was low revealing tanned skin and a choker length chain with a large emerald pendant dangling from it. The trousers were cut off above the ankle to reveal green stilettos so high, Mildred wondered how she was able to walk. More impressive still was that she was wearing sunglasses which, in the dimly lit austere building, made Mildred wonder how she could possibly see where she was going. Unlike everyone else, she seemed determined not to look at either Mildred or Hecate, although, behind those dark sunglasses, she may have shot them a fleeting glance. She held up a hand and waved to her waiting fan-club. She looked sour, but, whether this was just a natural resting bitchface or, if it was due to the seriousness of the matter for which they had gathered or, that the woman had injected her face with so much youth potion that smiling was now a near impossible task, was difficult to say.

Hecate still apparently not looking at the entrance to the vestibule leant towards Mildred and began, "That is….."

"Jacqueline Allard" Mildred finished. She recognised her from the newspaper articles, but the photos didn't do her justice. She was imposing, utterly confident and seemed to command the room. In short, Mildred thought, not unlike the black-clad witch she was sitting next to, but she felt bad for making the comparison. She was no longer scared of Hecate. She would probably always be a bit intimidated by her, but she was beginning to understand her and what she felt for her aunt now was deep respect and love and she could not imagine being here without her.

"Jacqueline Allard versus Aurora Allard" called a court usher in deep navy velvet robes. This way please".

"Aurora Allard?" questioned Mildred, "don't they know that…..?"

"Come along, Mildred. It does not matter what they call you. You know who you are, and it is your magic that matters" and she led the girl out of the waiting area following a crowd of designer clad Allards into an enormous courtroom unlike anything Mildred could imagine.


	26. The Best Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is well :)
> 
> Enjoy this loooong chapter xxxxx

I don't own The Worst Witch :)

This is a long chapter xxxx

It was as though she had stepped into another world entirely. It was an auditorium with a pyramid shaped glass ceiling. The far wall was made entirely of glass with a view of what could only be described as a fairy woodland. As Mildred wondered how this was possible when she knew she was in the middle of Paris, she glanced at Hecate who seemed to take it in her stride. The other walls were wood panelled, but with tiny flecks of every colour of the rainbow. All around the courtroom were rows of seats fixed in mid-air, many of which were already occupied by people in brightly coloured robes who the girl assumed were the council members. Mildred watched as the witches and wizards in front of her waited for a row of seats to materialise before them and when it was full a handrail appeared and the whole row gently glided up to fixed point in the air and another empty row appeared before the next group. Mildred thought it was like waiting for a ride in a theme park and she felt the same fear building as if she were about to board the scariest rollercoaster.

A court usher walked up to her.

"Audrey Allard?"

"My name is Mildred Hubble"

"Zis way, Mademoiselle Allard".

"Hecate!" she reached out. "Can Hecate come with me?"

"No, Mademoiselle. Zis is you trial. You must stand 'ere". With that the young man guided her onto a small platform, as soon as a rail appeared, she grabbed hold of it, her knuckles turning white as it lifted to a central position where everyone could see her and where she could see the whole courtroom. There must have been a least four hundred people in total all watching her, she felt completely alone as she frantically searched the rows for Hecate, her heart hammering in her chest. Finally, she saw her aunt sitting at the end of a row to Mildred's right. She was looking up at her and gave her a reassuring nod before looking further upwards past Mildred. The girl looked up too and saw she was hovering underneath what she at first thought was a chandelier, but it had no lights or candles, it was more like an enormous wind-chime, with silver disks and crystals hanging from its chains, the prisms, she realised, were responsible for casting the flecks of rainbow colours all around the courtroom. She recalled what her aunt had told her. "A praecantometer is an instrument shrouded in mystery, we only know the whereabouts of one which hangs from the ceiling of the main courtroom of the Magic Council building in Paris". Mildred thought of how grown up she had felt earlier that morning in her new clothes and shoes and with her hair pinned up on top of her head. Now she felt smaller than she had ever felt in her life.

Silence descended and all eyes turned to the glass wall at the front of the courtroom where in flashes of red sparks, a small, elderly wizard in deep plum silk robes and a pointed hat appeared on a large chair. Everyone stood. Le Grand Maître Sorcier peered down at Mildred with piercing blue eyes as the claims against her were read out in French. Another voice that Mildred could not locate, that seemingly only she could hear, repeated each line in English.

The Grand Mage asked the Allard attorney to stand and he began to speak. Again, the voice of an interpreter rang in her head. She was so nervous she couldn't concentrate but she picked up on certain words and phrases. Failed newborn tests of magic, Incapable, lacking control, cannot perform the most basic spells. She felt all the confidence she had built up over the last few weeks fall away like sand through her fingers. She tried to focus and listen carefully.

"Furthermore", continued the attorney, "for the past seven months Aurora has been under the tutelage of her father's sister, Miss Hecate Hardbroom, who is herself, the subject of a council investigation for a most serious violation of Section 7 of The Witches' Code". Hushed conversation rose from the benches which was immediately silenced by the Grand Mage's gavel. "Silence!" he ordered.

The Attorney began to list Mildred's shortcomings beginning with her failure of the school entrance examination, the pig debacle and various potions and flying related disasters.

"It is the complainant's belief that Aurora Allard is not a competent witch. She is dangerous and therefore her magic should be removed".

"I believe you wish to call a witness" said the Grand Mage.

"Yes. Miss Ethel Hallow"

Ethel walked straight-backed and confidently, ponytail swishing behind her, across the courtroom floor to where a single seat, similar to Mildred's was waiting. Once the girl was settled, the seat glided upwards, level with Mildred and about 5 feet away from her.

"Please confirm your name, Mademoiselle" said the attorney.

"Ethel Portia Hallow" and she swore an oath on the Witches' Code.

"Please tell the court how you know the defendant"

"She is in my year at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches".

"You have previously stated that you were the victim of one of the defendant's spells that went badly wrong. Please explain the circumstances of this incident to the court"

"Well", Ethel began far too excitedly, "Miss Gullet, our spell science teacher asked, Mildred, that is Aurora, to perform a simple beginners frog transformation spell on a mouse. Miss Gullet asked me to hold the mouse".

"Then what happened?"

"She turned me", pointing to herself and pausing for dramatic effect, "into a pig!" she announced looking around at the rows of spectators who once again exchanged hushed comments.

"Did she turn you back?"

"Miss Hardbroom made her turn me back, but she couldn't even do that properly. I was left with a pig's nose for the rest of the day until the teachers worked out how to fix it".

"Mademoiselle. As the defendant's classmate, would you say this was an isolated mishap?"

"No, I would not! Mildred Hubble is a disaster. Even our form mistress, Miss Hardbroom, Mildred's own aunt, called her the worst witch she had ever taught".

"Thank you, that will be all".

Ethel looked downwards and to her left to where Mrs Hallow was seated and who awarded her daughter with a nod of approval. This small gesture, Mildred noted, made Ethel beam with happiness and she gave a sigh of relief as her chair lowered to the ground. Mildred glanced at her aunt, but Hecate who had so far been sitting with her usual upright posture and facing the proceedings was looking down, her face obscured by the brim of her hat, Mildred willed her to look up so she could smile and try to convey that it didn't matter. But her head remained bowed.

…..

The Grand Mage rose from his chair and addressed the court. The interpreter's voice rang through Mildred's head.

"At her birth, Aurora Allard, also known as Mildred Hubble, was not documented as being non-magical, but given that she was sent away from our world, we assume she was not showing any newborn magical signs. However, since then she has displayed some magical ability and is now enrolled at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. We have heard that Miss Hubble is not a competent witch who has displayed uncontrolled and imprecise magic. And so, as the plaintiff, Madame Jacqueline Allard has asked, the defendant will be assessed using the Test of Magical Ability for ten to fourteen-year-olds.

"Mildred Hubble, would you like a glass of water before we begin?" The Grand Mage's voice was kind and the girl felt comforted by him calling her Mildred. She eagerly accepted the offer of water and a full glass appeared in a little groove in the railing between where her two hand were resting. An examiner wearing yellow robes rose up on her platform until she was level with Mildred. She introduced herself and explained the first part of the test. A moment later a maglet appeared in Mildred's hands on which appeared a series of drawings. For each drawing, Mildred called out what she saw first. At times she could not discern anything, and when a prompt was provided, Mildred still couldn't see what the drawings were supposed to be. She assumed she was failing this part of the test as she watched the examiner noting down her answers. Mildred noticed that the Grand Mage was watching with great interest and taking his own notes.

Next a table came floating up to meet her. On it was a cauldron, various ingredients and a potions book open at a level one spell – a simple sleeping draught. Mildred measured out all of the ingredients, taking care to stir clockwise or anti-clockwise as instructed. She smiled as the potion turned a deep purple colour as she added the lavender and remembered how Pippa had turned her nails the same shade.

The examiner inspected the potion. "It is perfect" she announced.

Mildred thought the next part of the test was like a waking nightmare where she was on a bizarre TV gameshow in front of a studio audience, and the quizmaster was rapidly firing questions at her, but the questions were about broomsticks and transformative spells and for some reason she was standing on a floating platform. She could almost hear the tension building music that emulated a heartbeat. Or maybe it was her own heart thudding in her chest that she could hear. She was glad when it was over as she thought she had got at least fifty percent of the questions right.

"Merci, Mademoiselle" called the examiner. "Now Miss Allard", she said as a small brown mouse materialised about a meter away from Mildred's face, I wish for you to turn the mouse into a frog".

Mildred glanced at Hecate who smiled at her. She had successfully performed this spell many times in the last few weeks but there hadn't been hundreds of strangers watching her, most of them wanting her to fail.

"Focus" she could hear Hecate's voice say as she recited the enchantment she now knew by heart. She felt tiny sparks of magic in her fingers and she opened her eyes to see a perfectly formed frog jumping happily in mid-air. She let out a sigh of relief.

"And now the reversal spell, please?"

Once again, she felt her magic tingle and the little frog became a mouse once more. The examiner inspected it and confirmed that all its body parts were returned. She marked her piece of paper placing ticks in the boxes next to feet x4, ears x2, and tail x1 etc.

Mildred again looked towards Hecate who was smiling.

"Now we move on to Green Magic. This should be the easiest part for you", smiled the examiner.

She felt sick as a young sapling appeared in the middle of the courtroom. "Please enchant this small tree so that it grows by exactly three inches". In all the practice she had done with Hecate she had never managed this spell perfectly. The increase had always been too little or too much, or she had made the plant smaller. She had improved since her first attempt when the plant had exploded, she knew that, but she was still very imprecise.

Mildred tried to take calm deep breaths. She tried to imagine herself somewhere else, anywhere else, where she was alone and did not feel the stares of hundreds of pairs of eyes on her. She lifted her hands and recited the incantation, but she knew as the words travelled out of her mouth that she lacked the strength and conviction in her voice. She felt magic pulse through her fingers, but she did not have her breathing under control. She expected nothing to happen, but the little sapling began to grow just a little, and kept growing until it was about three inches taller, but the magic kept pulsing through her fingers, and the more she tried to hold it back the more her heart pounded and the less control she had. The sapling began to grow and grow, its trunk twisting as it expanded. The Allard spectators watched with a mix of horror and enjoyment as though this were some kind of talent show that was going horribly wrong.

"Mademoiselle. Please stop the spell or I will have to stop it" shouted the examiner. But Mildred was trying as hard she could. Finally, she held out her hand and commanded,

"stop!"

The tree, now a mature oak with branches spreading majestically, stopped mere inches from where one large branch would have collided into the examiner's platform. For a moment Mildred was able to close her eyes and catch her breath, but a moment later, she could smell burning and could hear screams from the lower benches. The roots of the tree had caught fire, a blueish purple magical fire that quickly spread upwards, smoke was filling the courtroom. The Court ushers rushed towards the burning tree, lifted their arms and doused the fire with a spell.

Conversation erupted all around the courtroom, but it hushed when the Allard attorney rose to stand.

"Surely, your Greatness, this girl has proven herself to be dangerous and must relinquish her magic?"

The Grand Mage was silent for a moment as he looked at what was left of the burned tree. Lines appeared on his forehead clearly deep in thought, his fingers drumming the arm of his chair.

"This court is adjourned". He said finally, "we shall resume in one hour" with a tap of his gavel he disappeared in red sparks.

Mildred immediately felt her chair lower to the ground. As soon as it landed, she ran over to Hecate.

"I've let you down. Again. I wanted to do it for you, after everything you've done for me. You deserve to be proud of me".

"Mildred Hubble" she said softly, "I am and always will be proud of you. I love you. How many twelve-year-olds have to perform magic in the middle of a courtroom with hundreds of people watching? I know you are a powerful witch. I've seen your magic."

"And if they take my magic?"

"I loved you when you had none. I love you now that you have it and I will still love you if they take it away"

"The test was so simple! How could anyone fail it?" Ethel said to her mother as she walked past.

Hecate tried to think of something that would make Mildred feel better, "Ethel Portia Hallow" she whispered in Mildred's ear, "I did not know she had a middle name. It means 'pig' in Latin", she smiled, and Mildred laughed despite her tears, but her laugh froze.

"I feel sorry for Ethel. All she wants is her mum to be proud of her"

"Mildred, you are wise beyond your years and you have such a big heart, the heart and soul of the Best Witch.


	27. Grumble, but this is how it will be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own The Worst Witch :)
> 
> So we are nearing the end now........please tell me what you think. The last chapter will come very soon xxx

After what seemed like an eternity, a court usher called everyone back into court Jacqueline glided in and seated herself in Mildred's direct line of vision. Though she still wasn't moving her face, she looked as though she had won, and did not seemed surprised. She was the sort of woman who was used to winning.

Silence immediately descended as the Grand Mage materialised in his chair and began to address the court. "Today, we have seen a young girl assessed using The Test of Magical Ability. This test is standardised on witches of Mildred's age. However, this young girl is unusual, firstly, because her magic found her later than is typical and so her magic has had less time to mature and stabilise, and, secondly, because she grew up in the non-magical world with no one to teach or encourage her. It is my belief that the results of this test although useful cannot be taken in isolation because it is not known what a twelve- year-old witch with Mildred's history should be capable of". Jacqueline Allard turned a shade of purple.

"I would like to call Miss Hecate Hardbroom to the stand".

The court seemed to take on a deeper silence as though everyone were holding their breath as four hundred pairs of eyes turned towards her as she rose from her place on the bench and transferred herself down to the courtroom floor where she was guided onto a platform which rose until she was level with Mildred.

A thick leather-bound volume appeared in front of her with the words le Code de la sorcellerie on which she placed her hand and swore to tell the truth.

"Can you confirm you are Hecate Hardbroom?"

"Yes" her voice was soft but it carried.

"Are you the Deputy Head Teacher at Cackle's Academy for Witches?"

"Yes"

"And you are the aunt of Aurora Allard also known as Mildred Hubble?"

"I am"

"Miss Hardbroom, the Council detected unusual magical activity over the Channel yesterday 9th May. Miss Hardbroom, did you perform weather magic yesterday?"

Hecate did not flinch, "I did"

Gasps echoed around the chamber, the audience was clearly enthralled with the proceedings.

The Grand Mage paused as he looked at her with his clear blue eyes. "In that case you will need to be recorded as a weather witch. This can be done here and now. Would you please make it snow?"

"I beg your pardon, Your Greatness. I do not understand. I know that weather magic is forbidden".

"There have been calls to charge you under Section 7 of The Code. However, there is a "Mortal Peril" clause which states a witch may use her magic if her life is threatened as I believe yours was threatened yesterday. It is true that some magic, the kinds that interfere with the Non-Magical World, are forbidden even under these circumstances. However, The Modern Witches Code by which you are bound dates from the latter half of the Seventeenth Century, by which time, weather magic was already assumed to have died out. Therefore, weather magic is not listed among the dark or dangerous forms of magic which are exempt from the Mortal Peril clause. Therefore you were at liberty to use it". Hecate and Mildred looked at one another in stunned silence. "Nevertheless", he continued, "I think it best to have your rare power recorded with the Council, to do this I must ask you to demonstrate your magic. Would you be so kind as to make it snow?"

"Gladly, Your Greatness" she breathed, barely daring to comprehend what the wizard had just explained. Mildred smiled at her aunt as she extended her arms and the room darkened and became colder as grey clouds formed and connected above the glass ceiling. A chiming noise began to sound above Mildred's head. She looked up to where the silver disks and crystals of the praecantometer were gently colliding into each other making louder and louder chimes as the room grew ever colder. Hecate moved her long fingers rapidly as her long arms came slowly down by her sides and large slow flakes came floating from the clouds landing silently on the glass above. Within moments the large window behind the Grand Mage's chair resembled a yuletide postcard with the trees in the dense woodland now coated in a thick layer of snow.

"Lovely" said the Grand Mage happily as he turned back around to face the court. "Thank you, Miss Hardbroom"

She let down the spell, the glass window cleared, and the blue sky returned. The praecantometer was as still as it was before.

The spectators were awestruck and silent.

"I believe Mildred spent the first year of her life in your care. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Your Greatness"

"And in that time, did she display any magic?"

"No" Hecate shook her head.

"Did you show her any magic or encourage her in any way?"

"Yes, all the time"

"Please tell the court about this"

"I showed her as much magic as I could. I blew bubbles through a wand and changed the colours for her". She thought hard tracing her mind back to exactly what she used to do. She remembered Aurora's bath time when Pippa would wash her hair and Hecate would make little paper boats and set them in the water, blowing on the surface to make little waves and the paper boat would bob up and down. The toddler would blow too making it capsize and then laugh hysterically. As she explained all this, the Grand Mage listened intently.

"Hmm, thank you, Miss Hardbroom", that will be all.

He turned to Mildred. "Mademoiselle Hubble", he began. "Your assessment is not over yet. Madame Allard has asked that you be assessed using the praecantometer" he gestured to the crystals above her. "You may use any spell you wish. Whatever magic comes most easily to you"

Mildred glanced at Hecate for the reassurance she needed.

Her heart was hammering as she stood staring at her shoes her face felt hot. She thought of the first thing she could think of her calm herself. The afternoon in the school grounds when she had made the cherry blossoms grow, she remembered how the cool petals felt when they fell on her face. She began to breathe deeply and closed her eyes. Shutting out all that was around her. She was in the grounds of Cackle's now and it was just her alone. A female voice began to whisper though her head, but it was not the erratic prosody of the interpreter, slow and rapidly trying to keep up and slowing down again. Instead, this was a calm gentle voice. At first, she could not hear what it was saying, but slowly, she began to make it out. As if there was an invisible hook underneath her chin with someone standing above her pulling gently, Mildred held her head high and rotated her neck as she opened her eyes to stare at Jacqueline Allard. She narrowed her dark eyes and she could see the blond woman shift uncomfortably under Mildred's icy gaze.

She stood there in that moment, but also in the past and in the future. She was those that had come before and those that were yet to come. She was eternal. She felt her body tingle with magic. She was powerful and she was exactly who she was meant to be. She was confident and knew exactly what she was meant to do.

She closed her eyes and breathed.

She heard the voice again or perhaps more than one softly hissing through her head, but whose it was she couldn't tell.

"You are a fool Madame Allard" the voice echoed, and Mildred felt as if Jacqueline could hear it too.

"…..A fool if you think my magic is weak". For a moment she imagined herself in Cackle's library, once again staring at the painting of the pale queen in her black gown.

"I am Mildred Hubble. The magic that pulses through my veins is the same magic that coursed through the blood of three Queens of England.

Now she could see herself in a sea storm, but she was not in danger.

She was controlling the tempest.

"I possess the same magic that blew a hundred Spanish ships off course and dashed them against the rocks so that not a single ship should land upon an English shore. I am Mildred Hubble and I have the heart and stomach of a sorceress, a Howard Witch. I have the same magic as my Aunt, the most brilliant and powerful witch, and I am far more powerful than you. So, grumble as you may, Madame; this is how it will be".

Mildred closed her eyes and began to meditate. Standing on the shore looking out to sea, she breathed slowly in through her nose and out through her barely open lips sending out long threads of breath as the tide washed over her feet and in again as the water moved outwards. After a moment the temperature in the courtroom dropped. Mildred felt the loose strands of her hair begin to waft. She felt so alive, she was so aware of her breath and her body, she felt her magic tingling in her hands and her feet inside her shoes. She was then aware of everything that was happening around her; the papers on the desk of the court's minute-taker were beginning to rustle. She kept on with her long threadlike breaths as if softly blowing iridescent bubbles through the sky. With her eyes still shut she could tell dark clouds were creeping over above the glass ceiling blocking out the sun. Now she could sense the wind pick up around the room, whipping cloaks and robes, she sensed witches holding down the brims of their hats as though they were flying on their brooms into a headwind, the silver discs and crystals above began to clang against one another. Whispers now became shouts of, "What is the girl doing?" Mildred Hubble knew exactly what she was doing. She carried on with her slow gentle outbreaths. The minute taker's papers were now flying in circles around the room. Her spell had almost reached its constant, it could now sustain itself and she opened her eyes to see the storm clouds had gathered and a very gloomy light presided over the courtroom commotion. The chains of the praecantometer were now colliding frantically making a chiming racket above her. Court ushers flicked their wrists to light the lanterns as a few heavy raindrops splashed the glass ceiling, within moments becoming a torrent lashing at the glass behind the Grand Mage and threatening to shatter the pane. A tremendous bolt of lightning flashed, dimmed and flashed again causing the lanterns to fuse but flooding the courtroom with pale purple-blue light in which Mildred saw Hecate in black silhouette with only her beautiful pale face reflecting the electric colour, the pride in the woman's eyes making Mildred stand even taller and hold her head even higher. She knew she had done enough. The courtroom was plunged into pitch darkness, thunder rumbled overhead, Mildred reeled her magic back in. The rain came to a stop as the dark clouds began to disperse and the sunshine streamed in once more.

A hum of discussion rose up among the spectators but was immediately silenced by the Grand Mage's gavel.

"Mildred Hubble", he said kindly, "I have come to my decision. You are a very powerful witch Mademoiselle. Furthermore, I believe you are blessed with an aunt and teacher in Miss Hecate Hardbroom who is the only witch who can instruct you in your very rare magic and help you to control your vast magical potential. It is therefore my decision that you are the sole and rightful heiress to Augustine Allard's grimoire and all her of her fortune. May I take this moment to wish you all the very best for the future. Bon Chance Mademoiselle Hubble. Court is dismissed".

The gavel once again swung down with a thud.


	28. le Grand Maître Sorcier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own The Worst Witch. 
> 
> I really hope you like how the story ends xxx

Mildred ran into Hecate's outstretched arms and she whispered, "Well met, Head Witch Allard".

A court usher came up to them and said they should follow him to the Grand Mage's office to organise the formal acceptance of the title.

"Go on, Mildred"

"Excusez moi, Miss 'Ardbroom, but le Grand Maître Sorcier wishes you to accompany Mildred"

Inside the enormous wood panelled office, the wizard was sitting on a large oak seat at a desk piled high with leather bound tomes, globes, crystal balls, quills and ink bottles. Both witches dropped simultaneous curtseys as they touched their foreheads with their fingers and chorused, "Well met, Grand Maître Sorcier".

At the same time the elderly wizard beamed at them, he removed his hat to reveal a bald head, so the witches removed their hats too as he encouraged them into two comfortable armchairs and asked them if he could get them some tea. Hecate was a little surprised when the mage prepared the tea himself. He returned with three cups. "You like your tea, you English, oui?"

On a table in front of them lay a fairly small but thick book. It was exquisitely decorated with turquoise stones, opals and moonstones arranged in a sunburst design.

"May I touch it?"

"Mildred", he smiled, "it is yours now". She opened the grimoire and gasped at what she saw; page after page of the most intricately illuminated text in perfect calligraphy. She was awestruck at the carefully designed layout of each page and the detail that had gone into the various diagrams and drawings of the herbs and plants all expertly labelled. "It's in French" Mildred called out in a shocked voice"

"Yes, Mildred, what did you expect, ma chère?"

Mildred felt unbelievably stupid. Obviously, it's in French, duh, she thought to herself.

Miss Hardbroom spoke, "I've always thought French was the most beautiful language in the world, and you should consider learning it, however, for the time being it will be a good opportunity to practise the translation spell you have been learning in spell science.

Mildred sat back down on the armchair leaving the grimoire on the table.

"So", said the Grand Mage, his eyes twinkling, "A Weather Witch no less! When did you realise you could do that?"

"I don't know, Sir"

"Well it is rather curious because weather magic is not among the many gifts the Allards are associated with. There is not a single Allard Witch recorded in the archives to have possessed weather magic, and this grimoire makes no mention of one. And so, we are left with a question, where does this gift come from?"

"I heard a voice in my head, just before I performed the spell"

As if the words were burned into her brain, she recalled them verbatim. "Was it your voice, Hecate".

Tears fell down the witch's face as she shook her head and smiled, "No Mildred"

"I have your magic, but how?"

"I don't know" came the honest reply.

"You don't recognise me, do you, Hecate?" said the Grand Mage.

Now that she looked at him closely, there was something familiar about his face, and his voice but she couldn't place him.

"I know I am not as young as I used to be", he smiled. "You were my student many years ago, you were in my class with Mademoiselle Audrey.

"Professeur Thibault" Hecate beamed at him. He had aged but the kind expression and the wise blue eyes were exactly the same, she wondered how she could not have known him.

"Mildred", the old man turned to the girl. "I was an academic for many years before I became Grand Mage. My research interests included the typical and atypical magical development of young witches and wizards. In fact, I was involved in designing the Test of Magical Ability, but it was only ever meant to be used as a tool to better understand how young witches and wizards develop. It was never meant to be used to prove a child should be stripped of their magic. However, the Allards demanded it be used and, I must say I was intrigued by how you performed on the test. It appears that you do not possess any of your mother's magic, but that is not to say you are not a witch. That is why I wished to understand more about your early exposure to The Craft, and why I called Miss Hardbroom to the stand". He turned briefly to the older witch, "I was sorry to call you without warning, but it was necessary". He paused and considered the two witches, watching him expectantly with their dark piercing eyes and brown hair pinned up on the tops of their heads. He looked from the student to the teacher and back again.

"It is my belief that you were indeed born without a trace of magic, Mildred. It is so rare that we don't really understand why it happens. There is a theory that a difficult birth and the health of the mother is a factor. That would fit in your case, but we do not know for sure. Certainly, it was nothing Audrey did wrong. It was a tragedy". Mildred nodded sadly. "So, how is it you have your aunt's magic, certainly not through your father's line. You know, do you not that fathers do not pass on their magic to their daughters?"

"Yes sir"

"In any case your father possesses Hardbroom, not Howard magic. So we are left with only one fascinating possibility, that in your aunt's care for you as an infant, through the love she gave you and the magic she showed you and the techniques she used to encourage you, she did not bring out Allard magic because it was never there, instead, she unwittingly passed on her own Howard magic to the child she loved as a daughter in a very similar way that witching mothers do with their baby girls. Sadly, you were taken from her before she could see the fruits of her labour". Now Hecate was sobbing silently into a black handkerchief.

After a moment's pause, he continued,

"Mildred, ma chère. Are you happy about today's outcome?"

"Of course, sir. I thought I would lose my magic. I thought Hecate would lose hers. I was so scared."

"Yes, but what of the inheritance, are you happy about that?"

Mildred looked at the stunning grimoire and hesitated. Hecate who had looked up from her handkerchief and saw Mildred through watery eyes realised that in these last few weeks, she'd never asked Mildred whether she even wanted to be Head Which Allard. Not for the first time she was awed by the wisdom of Professor Thibault. He had seen in a few hours what she had failed to see in weeks; Mildred did not want it.

"I just didn't want to let Hecate down and I didn't want to lose my magic, so I worked as hard as I could to pass the test, but the truth is I don't know any of the Allards. I only know that Jacqueline tried to kill me twice and she didn't care if she killed my aunt or my best friend. I don't have Allard magic, I'm not sure what I'd do with a castle in France. I'm happy at Cackle's. Cackle's Castle is my home and everyone I love is there".

"Mildred you won't be at school forever, one day you'll leave it behind. This inheritance is your birth-right, you are the rightful heiress" Hecate advised.

"I know it's mine by right, but what's the point if I'm always looking over my shoulder for Jacqueline. She won't ever stop. I know that in a few years I'll have to leave Cackle's, but I don't want to leave you. I want you to adopt me like you were going to before I was taken away."

"Oh Mildred".

"Well, will you?"

"I don't have anything to offer you. I don't even have my own home because I live at school. I am not Head Witch of my family and even if I were, we are a proud family but not especially wealthy anymore".

"You don't care about those things, and neither do I".

Hecate paused for a moment. The girl was right and the older which knew she was sounding like her own mother.

"Then…..If that is what you want…..You'll have to stop calling me Aunty."

Mildred jumped out of her chair and into Hecate's arms.

The elderly wizard smiled. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, sir"

"I think you are very wise Mademoiselle Mildred. I will send down for the correct paperwork for you to sign so you can formally relinquish the Allard inheritance".

"May I ask you a question?"

"Of course," replied the wizard.

"The praecantometer…."

"Ah, the praecantometer! "There is no such thing, my dear". The wizard laughed at the expression on Mildred's face. "I am sorry, I know you will have worried about this part of the test, but you see, the Allards demanded it, even though it is not part of the Test of Magical Ability. Furthermore, the device is greatly misunderstood.

About a thousand years ago, the first Grand Mage of France acquired the instrument you see today. He used it to prove to his detractors that he was the greatest wizard in the known world. But the truth is that the so-called praecantometer is just a wind chime. It does not measure anything at all although people often believe their own illusions of what power looks like in the world. Wind chimes simply detect changes in the wind and they were once used to help sailors predict oncoming storms. I believe that the first Grand Mage was a cheat and enchanted the crystals to move only when his magic commanded it".

Mildred could not believe what she was hearing.

"There are some things, my dear, that cannot be measured. There is no instrument that can count all of the stars, or measure a mother's love, and nor does there exist any gauge that can measure how much magic there is within you".

Mildred smiled at that.

"There is just one more thing. There are some magical objects which belonged to Augustine Allard laid out on my desk. I would like you to choose something to keep.

"Thank you, sir", she said as she followed him over to the great oak desk.

Her gaze rolled over the endless spell books, globes and dreamcatchers, there was a small silver telescope on a stand, some curious instruments with functions Mildred could not guess at and some turquoise jewellery. Mildred looked at the wizard with an overwhelmed expression. "I don't know what to choose".

"Then will you permit me to make a suggestion?"

Mildred nodded. The Grand Mage leant over the desk and picked up a hand-mirror. The back of it was decorated just like the grimoire with turquoise, opals and moonstones arranged in an oval sunburst. The handle was twisted with a silver trellis with little turquoise stones to suggest flowers. Mildred turned it over and saw her reflection in the glass. Her face was framed with the same trellis and turquoise design around the edge of the glass. "What does it do?" she asked, still looking at her reflection.

"You will discover it has many uses, but first and foremost, it is a mirror, Mademoiselle. It shows you who you are, and to know who you are is very powerful magic". Mildred smiled into the glass. It was perfect.

When the papers were brought in, the wizard asked her to sit at his desk in his own large oak chair. He unrolled a sheet of parchment in front of her and passed her a silver fountain pen.

When the girl had signed the document, she placed down the pen, the Grand Mage smiled as he looked at her signature.

"Miss Hardbroom", he said, "As Mildred is a junior witch, will you countersign this legal document?"

Hecate leant over Mildred's shoulder and the girl watched the pale slender hand with long black fingernails take the pen and hold it poised above the line on which she was about to sign. There it stopped, for just a few moments, as if frozen. She had seen how Mildred had signed herself, Mildred Hecate Hubble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done!


	29. The Inheritance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my story. I really hope you've enjoyed it. This is the very last bit xxxxxx

Now that the selection day was over, Hecate was sitting in Ada's office going through the paperwork.

"So, we have the third and last Hallow sister, Sybil, starting next year. She seems a sweet child but so under-confident.

"Yes, she barely scraped a pass", agreed Miss Hardbroom, "but let's not judge too quickly". Ada smiled at that. "Why do you think she lacks confidence?"

Ada considered the question. "I don't know. Her sisters are both so capable, perhaps she's had everything done for her and hasn't been encouraged. Youngest daughter, and all that, she'll never inherit the family fortune".

"Our ways are hard on families. The hierarchy, I mean, it causes problems"

The older witch gave her a sad smile, "With my sister, don't I know it?"

"I worry Mildred will resent me" she blurted out quickly.

"What in Merlin's name for?"

"She gave too much away, and one day she will realise it".

"When will you realise that you are enough? And what about what you gave her? And what you will one day leave her?"

"I know she chose me. She knows I love her but…...what do you mean? I have nothing to leave her."

"Hecate, to whom do you think I intend to leave the academy? Not Agatha, surely?"

"Don't you have a niece somewhere?"

Ada looked at the woman she had known since she had been a pale shy little girl with her hair in plaits. In all the years they'd become close, as close as mother and daughter. Hecate had given twenty years of her life to the school and would surely never leave now. She loved the place just as much as she herself did and expected nothing more than to continue to live and teach there. And she had utterly no idea where this conversation was going."

"My dear Hecate, I made my will years ago. You are my sole beneficiary. The Headship is given at the Great Wizard's discretion, but I hardly think he would refuse it to you. I don't think he would dare. This castle is your home, it has been your home since you were eleven. You should know I think of you as a daughter. I wish to leave the castle to you, and I cannot put into words how much joy it brings me to know that one day you will leave it to your own daughter".

"Ada, I do not know what to say".

"Oh come here" said the older witch as she held open her arms.

….

That evening Hecate and Mildred flew the short distance to the edge of the school grounds. It was cold for the season. Mildred was happy to be going back to the cottage and Hecate felt excitement at the prospect of having six weeks to dedicate to teaching Mildred her magic. But as they neared the little cottage, she noticed that a light was glowing from one of the windows and smoke was billowing from the chimney. A figure in pink appeared at the door to welcome them. She had arrived there before them. Hecate knew in that moment that there would be time enough to teach Mildred, but for now, it was time for the three of them to enjoy being together as a family.

The End xxxx


End file.
